


All The Lonely People

by Jude_Rigby



Series: Beware Of Darkness [16]
Category: Castle (TV 2009)
Genre: Airplane Crashes, Crime, Drama, F/F, F/M, Family, Family Fluff, Father's Day, Los Angeles, Mother's Day, Romance, Santa Monica
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-28
Updated: 2021-03-01
Packaged: 2021-03-12 13:14:39
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 20
Words: 273,613
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29760168
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jude_Rigby/pseuds/Jude_Rigby
Summary: A phone call from a friend takes Castle and Beckett to the other side of the country to help solve a murder on the West Coast. Conducting their own investigation with the help of an LAPD contact they discover that acquaintances can turn deadly. Sixteenth in the Beware of Darkness series.
Relationships: Kate Beckett & Richard Castle, Kate Beckett/Richard Castle
Series: Beware Of Darkness [16]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2006014
Kudos: 3





	1. Prologue- Leaving On A Jet Plane

**Author's Note:**

> The title of this story is a lyric from the song Eleanor Rigby by Paul McCartney and John Lennon, from The Beatles album Revolver. The title of this chapter is the title of a song by John Denver.

Santa Monica Airport

"Go ahead and land, tailwind is easing up so you should have a smooth landing," the man said into his headset. "Slower day today," he commented to his colleague who was behind him

"Yeah but we got another one in Pym," the man said. "Might have to have him circle."

"Not if I can help it," Pym replied. He called to the plane and looked over at his colleague after a second before saying, "He's not answering." He called the pilot and then breathed out when a man responded. "Yes, how far out are you?" Getting an answer he then said, "Go ahead around to line up, we have a plane ahead of you but since he's getting down right now you should be good to go."

"Must be on the phone," the other man said.

"Yeah, I wish they'd pay attention," Pym replied. "I mean, we're not LAX of course…"

Laughing the man said, "Want to head out to lunch?"

"I'll stay until this guy's gone. How's the sky looking?" Pym asked after checking outside with a pair of binoculars.

"Clear as far as the radar goes," the man said with a short nod. "Except for Mr. Phone out there."

Noticing then that he was leaning over to look closer at his radar screen, Pym asked, "What is it?"

"No, just lowered down a hundred feet," the man said.

"Piper," Pym said quickly into the headset. "You're heading down too soon; maintain your flight level-"

Not able to hear the pilot's reply, the co-worker could tell what the answer was still and said, "Turbulence?"

"Yeah but the Piper before him didn't go through it at the same height," Pym frowned. Seeing his co-worker looking at the screen again, he said, "He's up?"

"He's up, holding steady, okay, now he's down," the man said with a nod.

"Here he is," Pym said, spotting the plane out the window as he looked through the binoculars again. He nodded seeing the plane coming down as normal and sat down to watch the landing.

The small plane soon came down and the wheels struck hard on the tarmac before it rolled past the two men in the tower.

"What the hell… Piper, you have clearance on…" Pym started to say as it wasn't slowing down.

"The hell is he doing!" the co-worker yelled as they watched in horror as the plane veered off to the right of the runway, clipping a building before it finally came to a stop, tilted down to its right.

"Call it in Lee, I'm going down," Pym said hurriedly before he ran out of the room. He went down to the tarmac and running to the plane he was able to reach it before anyone else had. He managed to get the door open; hesitating as he knew it should have been locked; before he threw it open. Inside in the pilot's seat he saw a middle aged man who was slumped and looking at him, grasping at his throat as he gasped for air. "Sir, are you okay?" he asked in concern.

The sound of sirens filled the air and Pym leaned over as the man's mouth was moving, trying to speak. He heard the man whispering a name and he stepped back as a firefighter yelled at him to let them get to the pilot. He was starting to walk away but didn't get very far before he heard the man yelling for someone to call the police as the man was dead. He looked back for a moment and then went to the tower where his colleague was sitting still, watching him.

"So he's dead," Lee said, wondering at the expression on his co-worker's face.

"Call the NTSB," Pym said firmly. At Lee's started look he said, "The pilot requested them before he died."


	2. On The Telephone Line

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The title of this chapter is a lyric from the song Fire and Rain by James Taylor, from his album Sweet Baby James.

Typing the last sentence in the e-mail that he was writing, Castle heard the sound of laughter coming in through the open window and he smiled. He quickly sent the message and then headed out without checking to make sure it had gone. Going outside and to the pool he paused just inside the gate as he watched his wife with their youngest, smiling again as she was helping her swim around. "Looks like you two are having fun without me," he called out to them.

"Hi Daddy!" Eliza said eagerly, waving her hand.

"Are you going to join us?" Beckett asked, looking back at him.

"Now that I finished, of course," Castle said, taking off his robe before he went around to the deep end and jumped in.

Beckett smiled and shook her head as Eliza was squealing in joy at the sight of him diving. "You're a show off you know," she told her husband when he made it back to them.

"I do what I can," Castle replied, taking Eliza from her. He kissed her cheek and said, "So how has she been doing?" he asked.

"I swim Daddy," Eliza answered before her mother could speak.

"I saw a little bit of it," Castle replied. "Want to keep swimming?"

"Yes," Eliza said firmly.

Beckett sat down on the top step of the pool, watching as Castle then took over with helping their daughter practice swimming, kicking and moving her legs. She cupped her face with her hands, smiling as she watched the two. She had to amaze at how much Eliza had grown since her third birthday two months before but was distracted from her thoughts when the toddler was calling out to her. "What is it sweetie?" she asked.  
"I hafta take a nap?" Eliza asked her.

"You do but we did let you go swimming you know," Beckett said as Castle set their youngest on the step next to her. She wrapped her arms around her and kissed her damp cheek saying, "But we will go swimming with Julia once we come back home okay?"

"Kay, can I go more?" Eliza asked.

"You can jump off from the side," Beckett said.

"She didn't do that before?" Castle asked in surprise as he went to the side of the pool as his wife took Eliza over there.

"She wanted to wait for you," Beckett told him with a smile.

"Oh thanks," Castle said as he waited for Eliza to jump into the water. As soon as she had he picked her up and he lifted her up above him, kissing her cheek as he then set her down onto the side again. "One more time," he told her.

Leaping off the side, Eliza felt her father picking her up as soon as the water came together above her head and she wrapped her arms around his neck before she looked up at her mother. "Do you jump Mommy?" she asked her.

"Not here," Beckett said simply.

Eliza looked at her father questioningly before she followed his gaze to watch as her mother went around to the deep end, diving into the water. She asked, "Can I do that?"

"Not yet," Castle said, kissing her temple as they watched Beckett swimming up to them. "When you're a little older and can swim better."

"Kay," Eliza said with a sigh. "That was good Mommy," she said firmly when Beckett stood in front of them.

"Thank you sweetie," she replied with a smile. "And I think we've had enough swimming-" she started to say. When the toddler groaned in protest she hurried to continue, "For now. We'll swim when Julia gets home I said."

"Oh," Eliza said before she giggled shyly as her father tickled her neck. She looked up at him and said, "You too?"

"We'll all go swimming," Castle replied as he turned to walk with Beckett to the steps. "Even Macca."

Leaning over to see where the Wolfhound was sitting on the edge of the pool, watching them, Eliza shook her head and said, "No."

"He might," Castle said. When Eliza repeated the word he said, "He could."

"Rick," Beckett said, trying to scold him but too much laughter in her voice to make it sound at all threatening. She started to dry herself off as he was doing the same with Eliza and after wrapping her towel around herself she quickly took their youngest, waiting for him to finish himself.

Yawning Eliza said, "Do I sleep all night?"

"No, just an hour and a half," Beckett replied, leading the way to the house once she saw her husband had finished.

"Too long Mommy," Eliza sighed though she was leaning her cheek against her mother's shoulder.

"I know but you'll feel better after," Beckett said once they were in the house and going up the stairs.

"That and you'll be able to stay awake to swim with your sister later," Castle added, walking behind his wife.

Eliza smiled at that and then let her mother set her down on her bed so she could change her. She sighed as Castle leaned over to share a kiss with her and mumbled, "Night Daddy."

"Night sweetheart," Castle replied. "We'll see you when you get up."

Nodding, Eliza then turned her attention to her mother and wrapped her arms around her neck saying, "Night too Mommy."

"Night sweetie," Beckett replied, sharing a kiss with her before she helped her lay back on the bed. "Sweet dreams and we'll wake you up before we go to see your sister's class."

Smiling at that, Eliza wanted to squirm in her happiness but she was too tired and before her mother had even finished tucking the sheet around her she was asleep.

Closing the door behind them and watching Macca lay down in front of it, Castle said, "Sun wore her out."

"That and school," Beckett said with a smile. "Come on," she said as he had started to go down the stairs.

"We…" Castle started to say in protest, having wanted to swim alone with her for just a few minutes before they came back to the house. But he stopped when he realized she was heading for their room. And with the look in her eye he found that he couldn't resist, following her willingly as they went down the hall.

* * *

Hearing the water being turned off, Beckett wiped it away from her eyes and looked at her husband with a smile saying, "You enjoy that too much."

"I'm not sure what you're expecting when you let me do this with you," Castle was quick to say as he looked down at his erection. He then quickly looked back up to watch the last rivulets of water run down his wife's skin and he reached up, gently brushing through some of the lines they made. "Or did you really, seriously just want to take a bath together?" he said as he moved to get on his knees like she was.

Beckett merely smiled at that and she leaned over while wrapping her arms around his neck. Their lips met quickly after so she knew her husband had been leaning in to kiss her too. That thought was soon chased away from her mind as she hurried to part her lips for his tongue. But after submitting for a moment she carefully worked hers back inside his mouth. That led to a rough duel and it took some time before they stopped, neither one of them winning and neither caring as they listened to the water calm down after they'd caused it to slosh around a little in their movements. She looked at her husband then and cupped his cheeks before brushing her lips to his. She was about to speak, to tell him to lay her back and take her, when he lifted her and made her cry out slightly in her surprise before setting her on the ledge behind the back of the tub.

"Sorry, just… wanted to do this," Castle said, pausing to make sure she wasn't going to kill him for doing that.

Seeing the hesitation in his eyes, Beckett smiled and then leaned over, kissing him firmly but briefly on the lips before she said, "What did you have in mind with this?" She thought he was going to make love to her there but when he made her part her legs she knew instantly from his touch what he had in mind and she sucked in a deep breath of air as he lowered his head to her breasts.

Very carefully, Castle brushed his lips over both mounds, feeling her body rigid in the way she held herself. He moved to sit up straight and said, "You don't want me to?"

"How far?" Beckett asked instead of answering.

"Until I make you scream," Castle said simply. When she bit at her lower lip he couldn't resist and leaned over, kissing her deeply before slowly parting when they absolutely had to breathe. "Good?"

"Yes," Beckett said, unable to say no as she was already feeling how he would do that. She tilted her head back as he was nuzzling her neck and she breathed out heavily when he started to carefully suck at her pulse. When he began to nibble at the skin there her hands flew up to the back of his head, holding him in place as securely as she could as the feel of him was making her flesh throb in immediate reaction.

When he felt he'd spent enough time there, Castle moved down to the hollow of her throat, kissing around her pendant. Sliding his lips down further he tried not to shoot straight to her breasts before he pulled back to lean up and kiss her briefly. Feeling her holding onto the back of his head still he shuddered as her nails gently raked his scalp and he couldn't help the groan that left his lips at that. He then went down to her mounds again and kissed his way around them before slowly, carefully flicking his tongue out to her right nipple. When she arched her back at that he asked, "Good?"

Beckett didn't bother to respond to that, instead she brought him back down to her breast, looking on as he quickly took the taut nub with his mouth. She closed her eyes tightly as he immediately began to suckle at her and she stroked his hair while the warmth of his mouth added to what he'd begun to make her feel already. She leaned back against the wall as he continued and soon went to her other breast. After he'd been there for a while she was shocked into glancing down at him again when he pulled away. With her looking on he went down her abdomen and the trail of his lips had a very swift effect on her, making her shift to try and withstand him before he reached her mound.

Glancing up at her, Castle pressed his lips against her skin before he had to move as she slid back to give him better access. "You changed your mind," he told her teasingly.

"Hurry," Beckett said simply, not wanting to reply to his teasing as she was too frustrated with him moving away to speak.

Castle would have grinned at that if he'd known his wife wouldn't have gotten annoyed and instead he leaned down, pressing his lips along her clit before getting to her folds. He did that for two purposes, one because he wanted to and second because he needed to make sure that she was aroused. And the second his lips brushed against them he felt them becoming damp, making him shudder inwardly before he carefully slipped his tongue inside of her. He started to mimic a thrusting motion with it, groaning heavily he could feel her instantly moving in response. He groaned as he glanced up at her, seeing her hands were pressing down on the ledge on either side of her, able to tell she was using that for leverage. He then reached up with his hand and brought it into play with his mouth, lightly stroking her clit with the tip of his thumb and waiting to see how she would react.

For a moment Beckett lost her rhythm before she realized she had and then started to try and regain it as her husband's fingers had stopped moving. "Rick… please," she groaned heavily, frustrated again. She was a little startled when he didn't react to that vocally or physically before she felt his hands on her hips, starting to move her as she'd been doing. She would have smiled at that had he not gone back to stroking her at the apex of her legs and instead she was throwing back her head, crying out his name once as he kept touching her until he slowly moved away from her.

Before his wife could protest that Castle was moving around so his mouth and hand were switched. Going back to pleasuring her he felt her regain her pace she'd paused in when he'd moved and he tried to glance down at his fingers, trying to see if he could reach her g-spot. But since he couldn't see he could feel and he searched as he felt her suddenly start to press her hips up in the air. At that he suddenly backed away so he could sit next to her, kissing her neck and shoulders as she had her head tilted back. "Keep going?" he asked.

"Fuck Rick if you stop I'll strangle you," Beckett groaned heavily as he wasn't stopping. She squeezed her eyes shut tightly before she suddenly felt his fingers brushing against something once, twice and a third time more directly before she broke. She cried out his name, and kept on doing it as her orgasm hit her, while she held onto him however she could as he held her with one arm, letting her ride out her climax using him as support. She had no idea when she stopped but finally she did and sighed in pleasure as they moved slowly together until her body was still. Biting her lower lip as she looked at her husband, she then leaned over and kissed him as hard as she possibly could. Letting that go on for a little longer she was soon pulling away and going down on her knees, grasping his erection in her hand as he groaned in response.

Castle moved slightly in response to her after she had grabbed him and then looked down as she seemed to very quickly take him into her mouth. She proceeded to bob up and down and he was trying not to fall back on the wall as the pleasure was instant and almost hit him hard. He breathed heavily as he used one hand to hold himself sitting up and then the other he brought down to her, reaching for the back of her head. He very carefully started to stroke her wet hair, breathing in and out harder than before as she was starting to change her rhythm.

Beckett could soon feel that her husband was starting to follow her in the caresses of her head and she had to wonder if he realized he was doing that. She didn't mind it, in fact if she'd been pressed by him she would have admitted to Castle that she was more than a little aroused. The sensation was gentle and he was making shivers run down her head, straight to her sex. She had to try and ignore the sensation though and she struggled slightly to continue. Finally after more time had passed she could tell that her husband was getting closer to his peak, with the way he was shifting in front of her an indication of that. She looked up at him then to see the reaction he would have when she brought her right hand into play, trying not to start laughing as he nearly dug his fingers into her scalp.

Mumbling an apology that he wasn't sure was in English; thinking the Irish might have slipped out because of their intimacy; Castle could only withstand her fondling him for a few seconds. There was a part of him that thought he should likely be alarmed at that but with the way he could feel Beckett holding onto his thigh he didn't think she'd support that idea. So he lost himself to the intense rush of sensation she had elicited within him and he was groaning her name repeatedly, trying not to move too much. He had no idea how long it took, either seconds or minutes of heart pounding fire in his body until he was starting to slow down. And when he finally stopped completely he leaned back, looking down at his wife. But when he focused on her his eyes were wide as she was kissing his length. "What-" he started to say.

"Shh," Beckett said simply. She pressed her lips against him here and there a few more times before she slipped down a bit lower; something she hadn't done before but had tempted her since she had wondered what his reaction would be. The immediate jerk of his hips made her smile as she moved to sit up with him but that soon dropped off her face as her husband was pulling her into his arms. She kissed him back as he was hungry against her lips and she stroked the back of his head as their tongues were outright clashing inside of her mouth. When they had finally parted and she could breathe, she cupped her husband's cheeks and whispered, "Come on."

Castle had no problem in doing exactly that, following her out of the tub and then to the bedroom where they discarded their towels they'd used to dry off on the floor. He stopped her from getting onto the bed and kissed her, making it more sensuous than rough and he kept that up for as long as possible until they needed to breathe. "I adore you Kate," he whispered against her lips.

"Hurry," Beckett said, unable to take his tone and the way his hands had suddenly cupped her ass, pulling her against him. Once he was on the bed; taking her with him with his left hand on the small of her back; she straddled his lap and used her right hand to take his semi erect member. They were kissing passionately by then and at the same time she started to work on him, doing everything she had learned after so many years of being his lover to arouse him again. It took a little bit of time, since she'd just brought him to the edge, and also she was distracted in her efforts by his mouth going for her neck and breasts.

Though he knew his wife wanted him, Castle couldn't stop himself when he went down to her chest. He counted himself lucky when she didn't stop him but not as much when her hand stilled around him. Yet he knew doing everything he was to her; fondling and then carefully sucking at her; would help her get him fully prepared. And when he went back to her lips the first stroke of her hand around him made him jerk against her hard as he felt he was fully aroused. "Love…" he breathed to her, looking up at her as she raised herself above him, never letting him go.

"I adore you too Rick," Beckett told him with a slight smirk before she lowered herself. She gasped as he held onto her hips while he was entering her and she closed her eyes tightly until they were finally fully pressed against one another. "God love," she said, leaning against him a little.

Stroking her hair, Castle turned his head to the side and kissed at her temple a few times before she suddenly sat up and put her hands on his shoulders. He wanted to ask her how exactly she wanted him but he got his answer without having to say a word when she carefully rolled her hips. He slid his hands to the small of her back, clutching her there tightly as he watched her do that a few more times. And when she started to rock back and forth he held her against him in response as they moved together. He followed her lead and very soon reached the pace she had set and after they'd looked down in between one another to watch themselves for a moment he put his fingers under her chin. Raising it slightly, he kissed her deeply but was slow to slip his tongue into her mouth and was pleased when she responded in the same fashion.

Her hands sliding up the back of Castle's head, Beckett slowly pulled away after they'd been kissing for a while. She pressed her forehead to his and murmured against his lips before they were kissing again. It was a quick one, a brief peck of their lips before she tilted her head back for him and sucked in a deep breath of air as she could feel her husband lightly nibbling against her skin. He worked a path down to her pulse and she moaned softly in joy at the sensation of him starting to suck at her. She stroked his hair and eventually raked her nails down enough to reach his scalp before he tilted his head up towards hers. She kissed his lips before moving away and doing the same to his jaw, going in a line until she got to his ear. She paused before she could do anything there and pulled back so she could sit up straight as she moved up and down on him, sighing deeply as she could feel his hands going over her back. His fingers left a trail after them, an echo of his touch that added to what she already felt. She leaned down and pressed her lips against the shell of his ear and murmured into it, "Touch me Rick." She would have smiled at his immediate reaction; jerking back before he stared at her; but they were still moving together and she followed his hand gently pushing her back before his other slipped down in between them carefully.

Looking up at his wife, Castle made sure he saw her first reaction to his fingers brushing against her clit and he also felt it. She shook against him, making him groan as their hips slammed together for an instant. They went immediately back to their original, slow rhythm and he started in earnest pleasuring her manually, loving the way she arched her back against him. He didn't know what had pushed him to do it exactly but he leaned close to Beckett and whispered against her lips, "Show me how you want me to touch… touch you."

Having no real choice then, Beckett stopped moving and she glanced at her husband, relieved when he didn't protest that. She reached down to cover his fingers with her own and she murmured, "Like this… gently…"

When he followed her guide he watched her closely, loving the expressions on her face, arousal and then biting her lower lip. He stroked her face with his other hand and leaned into her at the same time she did, both of them kissing each other deeply. She was still guiding him and he allowed it until he carefully moved her hand away. They began to move together again, slowly and carefully so his hand between them wouldn't be crushed. He leaned down slightly and began kissing around her neck and collarbone before he pulled back and reached up to run his hand over her hair. "You're too beautiful… too fucking stunning," he found himself breathing to her before he could realize what he was telling her.

"Then why do you want to be with… with… oh god Rick…" Beckett murmured before he moved his hand away and grasped her by the ass, making her move a little harder before slowing her down. She allowed him to do that before she continued saying, "You still want me," she told him, their heads pressed so close together that their lips and breath brushed against each other.

"That's why I do…" Castle said before breathing deeply. "Because you are… all of that and more…" he rambled before he kissed her hard. It was in sharp contrast against the slow, steady pace their bodies were going and he shuddered heavily in pleasure before he was moving away from her. He stared into her eyes and he could see that she was getting closer to her edge as they didn't move or do much else than thrust against one another. Time seemed to keep going on and they kept a relatively steady pace, slowing a bit before they went back to the faster speed until he couldn't take it anymore before kissing her, feeling his self control starting to slip away from him.

Her fingers going through her husband's hair Beckett responded to his kiss as he was being very rough, their tongues meeting and mating until they had to shortly breathe. She became a little torn, wanting to focus on the feel of their bodies moving together gently, leisurely, and wanting to crush her lips to his again. But her body soon won out and she started to angle her hips downward, trying to make her clit brush against him. It took her a few times before she managed that and once she had she cried out as she ended up taking him further inside of her. Her nails dug into his head and she couldn't stop herself from moving faster until a near scream of her husband's name ripped from her throat. She felt him suddenly start to match her chaotic rhythm and knew that he had climaxed as well. Hers felt intense though they'd been moving so slowly and she closed her eyes tightly as her body was moving without her controlling it. She wasn't sure when she started to slow down but she was and sighed deeply as she held her husband tightly against her, feeling him rocking against her until he shuddered and with a groan, leaned into her hard. "Hmm, thank you love," she murmured to him when she heard him panting heavily as he pressed his cheek to her shoulder.

"Thank you… why?" Castle asked. He then quickly added, "I'm saying it because that was amazing, both this and the bath."

Smiling at that Beckett said, "The same for me." She kissed him before they were quiet, regaining their strength again for a few minutes. Finally though she pulled away from him and lay down on her pillow, smiling again as he was quick to follow her, lying on his side next to her before he started to stroke her cheek with the backs of his fingers. "Do you remember the last time we were like this?" she asked him.

"Last month?" Castle asked. When she nodded he said, "Yep, of course I do." And with that he leaned down to kiss her passionately, feeling her instantly responding before he lay down and held her tightly to him. "That was a great weekend," he commented. "I was going to say that we should do that again but we'll have our anniversary."

"We will," Beckett replied. As he held her tightly to him she couldn't help letting her mind go back to that weekend the month before, when she and Castle had gone to the bed and breakfast near Shirley. Her father; who had been a little depressed around the middle of April missing her mother she knew; had asked if he could spend time with the girls on his own. It had been Castle's idea for them to go to the B&B and for the weekend since that hadn't been the first time they'd done that for her father; though the last time nearly two years before when they'd gone to Atlantic City. She smiled as she turned onto her side and pressed her cheek against his shoulder, recalling vividly when they'd been shown to their room as her husband started to stroke her hair.

* * *

_As soon as he had locked the door behind them, Castle tossed their room key on the table next to the door before he was nearly rushing to his wife, gathering her into his arms._

_Beckett wanted to speak but he virtually crushed her lips under his and cut off any chance she might have had to do so. But she eventually pulled back and said, "Two weeks Rick."_

_"I know," Castle said before he picked her up and carried her around to the bed before he laid her down; trying very hard not to just throw her down. She came back up and as soon as she had he was kissing her while she reached down to his shirt. His hands were on her blouse a second after that and their kiss turned into multiple ones as they couldn't seem to stay away from one another for long. But finally they were nearly tearing away the coverings on the bed before he sank into her body. He paused for a moment to caress her naked form as much as he possibly could until finally he began to move._

_Beckett cried out in pleasure as he started out fucking her instantly and she closed her eyes as tightly as she could as she tried to match his rhythm. She begged him to continue while she stroked his hair and shoulders, feeling him deeply within her as he soon raised her hips up against him._

_The room was soon quiet except for the sound of the lovemaking going on on top of the bed and it continued for a good deal of time before Beckett was breaking, moaning his name as loud as she could repeatedly. Castle was quick to join her, calling her name as well in his pleasure until they were coming down from their high. A few more thrusts and they stopped completely at the same time, nearly collapsing on the bed in exhaustion._

_Unsure how long they took to regain their energy, Beckett felt her husband shaking slightly before she pulled away from him and said, "Lay down Rick."_

_Pulling away, Castle started to cough and then said as she was getting up, "I'm fine love, seriously."_

_"Not with that cough still," Beckett said, coming out from the bathroom putting on the robe that the bed and breakfast offered. She leaned over the bed and brushed her lips against his, going out to the wet bar, picking up the kettle of tea she'd requested be in the room when they arrived._

_Castle lay back on the bed with a sigh when his wife had disappeared from his sight and he glanced up at the ceiling. For two weeks he and Beckett had been juggling caring for their daughters who'd come down at the same time with colds making the rounds through their school. It had been no surprise that she had caught one from them and he had caught it last taking care of her. He had taken the longest to shake his cold, as a stubborn cough hadn't left him. He had it still by then but he was better than he'd been before that weekend though he had been frustrated sexually; unable to be intimate with his wife for the two weeks they'd been struggling with their illness. "Thank you love," he said, sitting up quickly when she came back to him carrying two mugs. "You take care of me," he told her, raising his mug in her direction._

_Smirking Beckett set down her mug on the nightstand next to him before tugging the tie of her robe off and tossing it behind her, managing to reach the top of the dresser. She got onto the bed and pushed the mug up to his lips so he'd take another sip. Once he had she set it next to her own cup and then kissed him deeply, tasting the spearmint tea inside of his mouth. "Hmm I find myself hungry for you love," she told him, flicking her tongue out to his lower lip._

_"Me too," Castle said as he'd been able to taste that at some point she'd taken a sip of her tea. He brought her over to him and kissed her deeply before making her straddle him. "So we're good until dinner?" he asked as she was stroking him, making him grunt in pleasure at the touch of her hand._

_Smiling at that, Beckett kissed him hard and pulled away, about to speak before she heard something outside. Looking out at the same time as her husband through the window next to the other side of the bed, she smiled again and said, "I wouldn't plan on doing anything today."_

_"Except this," Castle said, running his hands up her sides very slowly._

_Humming in pleasure and closing her eyes to savor the sensation of his hands sliding up, Beckett nodded and then looked at him. Their eyes met and locked for a second, before Castle was leaning up and taking her lips. They were soon beginning to make love, going far slower than before, and enjoying every second of it as they proceeded to set in motion their weekend alone as they wanted to spend it; together._

* * *

"So we're still going swimming right?" Castle was asking his wife as he was kneeling in front of her, helping her put on her boots.

"We are, why?" Beckett asked him.

"No just checking, it's only fair for Julia you know," Castle said. He finished with her shoes and he then moved to slide his hands along the sides of her blouse before he reached her face.

"You're remembering that weekend still aren't you? Pervert," Beckett said teasingly, smiling widely at him.

"You can't blame me," Castle protested as he joined her in standing. When she merely smiled at him and started to walk away he rushed to her and grabbed her hand, turning her around to pull her into his arms. He crushed his lips against hers and was relieved when she responded though that also let him know that he was right in what he had been thinking; she'd been thinking of their weekend as well. "We'll have to do that again," he told her when they parted to breathe.

"Again, we'll have Adare Manor," Beckett reminded him. She then smiled and closed the gap between them, starting to kiss him again. But before they could get into that too much, she felt someone running into her and they parted before she heard a giggle. "Good morning sweetie," she said with another smile as she looked down at their youngest.

"Hi, go to dance?" Eliza asked hopefully.

"We were going to get you right now," Castle said, leaning down to swoop her up in his arms. He tossed her up in the air to her loud squeal of pleasure before kissing her cheek. "All we need to do this brush your hair and then we can go."

"Mommy?" Eliza asked as her parents left the bedroom together then.

"I will," Beckett said, knowing that was to ask if she'd brush her hair. When they reached the toddler's bedroom she got Eliza's brush and then had her sit on her knees on the bed before starting to comb through the dark brown locks. "Alright, since it's still warm, you can wear your sundress."

Clapping her hands as Castle came over to them with the dress, Eliza waited eagerly as her mother changed her until she was dressed, running to the mirror leaning against the wall and spinning. "Do I look like Jules?" she asked, turning to her parents.

"Pretty close," Castle said, carrying the toddler's sandals while Beckett picked her up. He leaned over to share a kiss with their daughter before they went down to the entry, Macca following.

"Can Macca go too?" Eliza asked hopefully.

"He can't go inside sweetie, you remember," Beckett said, watching her husband put the sandals onto their daughter's feet. "But we'll go on a walk tomorrow okay?"

"Kay," Eliza said before she was set onto the ground and she reached up, holding her parents' hands. They headed out to the street and then walked back to the school with her being swung out every once in a while by her parents.

When they reached the dance studio they saw that the class was practicing the Jive again and they hurried to sit next to Mari as Ms. Grey was having Julia and Peter practice with two other pairs.

"Good, good," the teacher said, stopping the music. "You two have a great grasp of that flick after and Julia, Peter; you're getting better at the swing."

"It's fun to do Ms. Grey," Julia said, her partner nodding next to her.

"Alright, let's start from the top and then I'll go to each of your pairings, give you any pointers I see you need," the teacher said before she played a Chuck Berry song.

Leaning against Castle and watching the way Julia and Peter started up their kicks and flicks, Beckett smiled since they were smiling at each other, mouthing out their counting of steps instead of saying it. She watched Ms. Grey go to them first and she murmured, "They might be one of the two she picks in September."

"Likely," Castle said, unable to help the pride in his tone as he could tell the teacher was pointing out their pointing of their toes.

Nodding when Ms. Grey moved on, Julia said laughingly and a little breathlessly to her partner, "I always forget that with all the steps."

"Me too," Peter said with a nod. "Ready to go again?"

"Yeah, I'll count," Julia said. She listened to the music, waiting for the lyric where she could start and then said, "Three, two, one…"

The rest of the class had Ms. Grey talking to each pair until she finished and after she had them go to change before putting away some items she'd used during the lesson.

"Mommy, Daddy," Julia said, coming out to them. "What do you think?"

"You might be going to that competition," Castle said quickly.

Her cheeks flushing a little, Julia shook her head and said, "No, the Jive we did just now."

"Oh that, that was great, I'd give it a ten," Castle said.

"No," Eliza said firmly.

"Yeah, I'd give it a nine, you weren't perfect, but you were good," Mari replied.

"Thanks, I didn't think it was perfect," Julia said, smiling at her friend. She looked at her father and seeing the slightly startled expression on his face she laughed and threw her arms around his neck. "Sorry Daddy but I don't want you to say it was perfect," she told him.

"Well I thought it was," Castle said, smiling then when he felt her kissing his cheek. "Thanks sweetheart."

"It was good," Beckett said as Julia came over to her then to hug her. "Are you ready to go?"

"Yeah, can you come over Mari?" Julia asked.

"Dunno, I have to ask when we get home," the little girl said as they left with Eliza in between them, walking with Castle and Beckett behind. When they shortly after reached her home, Mari rushed down to her front door as the others waited on the sidewalk.

"I don't think she can," Castle commented as they saw David was talking with his daughter in the doorway before he slightly shook his head.

"Sorry Julia," Mari said, coming back to them. "My mommy's friend is coming today for dinner; I have to stay to help watch Dani."

"That's okay, at least we got to play at recess," Julia assured her.

"Maybe next week you can come," Beckett replied.

"I'll ask," Mari replied. She hugged Julia and said, "You danced great."

"You did a great job at dodge ball," Julia replied, smiling. She then waved goodbye to her friend, watching her go back to her house. As they were going, she felt her little sister taking her hand and looking down at her, smiled as Eliza looked a little upset. "It's okay," she assured her.

"I will play with you Jules," Eliza told her sister.

Giggling softly, Julia hugged her quickly and said, "I know and I can't wait. How was swimming before?"

"You know?" Eliza asked, her eyes wide.

"Well… yeah, your hair's wet," Julia pointed out, since it was still a little damp.

"Fun, I jump in and Daddy helped," Eliza explained.

"Great, we can go as soon as we get in right?" Julia was asking as they had reached the driveway and were walking up to the front door.

"Yes but first, bathing suits," Castle said. "Or in my case, trunks."

"You better be wearing trunks," Beckett said, not surprised when the girls giggled at her tone. She took the girls by the hand then and led them inside once he'd opened the door, taking them upstairs once Macca had greeted them eagerly.

Changing with Eliza as their mother helped her put on her one piece, Julia said, "Can we swim in Europe?"

"We could but where I'm not sure exactly," Beckett replied, setting Eliza down. "I'll be right back out you two."

"Why does Mommy go?" Eliza asked, taking Julia's hand.

"Just 'cause," the little girl replied with a little shrug of her shoulders.

"Mainly because she doesn't want to leave you two alone," Castle said, coming in then.

"Mommy does that with you," Eliza then said, going quickly over to him.

"You're too smart sweetie," Beckett said, coming out then. "Let's go," she said to her husband as she took Julia's hand.

Going down to the pool, Castle had to wait to dive back into the water as Beckett had him help her make sure both their daughters had on sunscreen. And after putting some on himself and then helping his wife before she helped him, he was waved away by her. "You know me too well," he said with a laugh before he leaned over and kissed her tenderly on the lips.

"I can tell you want to go," Beckett told him teasingly, watching him go over to the deep end. "Want to go watch?" she asked the girls.

"Can we wait to go in?" Julia asked, not surprised when her sister next to her nodded.

"Sure," Beckett replied, making a quick check of Eliza's vest before they went to stand on the edge above the steps.

Knowing that his family was watching him Castle quickly jumped in and when the water washed over him he resurfaced. He smiled as he swam back down to them as the two were cheering and he said, "Do you two remember when your grandpapa was here, taking care of you?"

"Yeah, why?" Julia asked as he picked up Eliza who was holding her arms up to him.

"You swam right?" Castle asked.

Julia smiled at that as she went down to the second step and then jumped into the water carefully. Getting onto her back to look at her parents who remained standing as Eliza patted the surface of the water she said, "We did a lot with him. Swimming-"  
"Art!" Eliza cried. "Playing and games, lots of games."

"It was fun, I hope he can do that again," Julia said.

"We'll see but I'm sure he will want to," Beckett said, squeezing Castle's arm as the little girl came back to them.

"Let's go under," Julia said in a rush.

"Want to?" Castle asked Eliza, who nodded eagerly. "Okay, then on three. One, two, three…"

As they ducked down underneath the water, Julia couldn't help remember her grandfather's visit and she smiled widely at the memory as she looked at the others, waving to them before they resurfaced.

* * *

_"Okay," Jim said, turning to his granddaughters once their parents' car had disappeared from sight. "Want to come up to my room so I can unpack a little."_

_"Yeah," Julia and Eliza said at the same time, taking his hands. She giggled as Macca barked shortly and jumped around them before she glanced up at him. She frowned a little when she saw that he wasn't really smiling and she glanced at her little sister before biting back what she wanted to say._

_As he was unpacking some of the shirts and other items in his small suitcase, Jim kept an eye on Julia and Eliza who were on the other side of the bed watching him. "What's wrong? Do you two miss your mom and dad?" he asked, troubled that was the case._

_"No but… are you sad Grandpapa?" Julia asked softly._

_Looking over at them with a startled expression on his face, Jim started to open his mouth to speak but then paused as he couldn't lie to them. "I am… a little, but I'm okay," he told the two._

_"Oh Grandpapa," Julia said, going over to the other side in a hurry and throwing her arms around his neck._

_When Eliza joined them, Jim hugged them both tightly and said with a brief smile, "I was thinking of your grandmama and thought you two would cheer me up."_

_"Did we yet?" Julia asked._

_"Please say yes Grandpapa," Eliza hastily said._

_"You have," Jim told them seriously. He then smiled a little and said, "I think getting the chance to play with you two will really help."_

_"Then let's play now… no!" Julia said before she interrupted herself with a gasp. "Let's swim!"_

_"Can we?" Eliza asked eagerly hearing that._

_With a laugh, Jim agreed and got them changed before he did so too and picked his granddaughters up in Julia's room where they'd waited for him. Down at the pool he carried Eliza in and watched with her as the little girl swam to the half way point of the pool. "Want to go with her?" he asked._

_"No, down…" Eliza said, leaning over in his hold and splashing at the water with both of her hands._

_Laughing then, Jim smiled when Eliza giggled and he had to admit to himself that his idea of spending time with both girls had been a great one. He then called Julia over to them and once she was standing with them he ducked under with them until the water covered their heads._

_"I can't wait for us to do a lot more stuff," Julia said happily when they'd stood with the water dripping over them. She paused and said, "You think Mommy and Daddy are having fun?"_

_"Most likely," Jim replied with a smile. "Do you miss them?"_

_"Yeah but it's good they're alone you know," Julia replied. "So they stay in love."_

_"It is, you're very smart," Jim said as he held Eliza while she practiced her swimming._

_"Well they don't fight too much so kissing a lot has to help," Julia said. "'Cause if they didn't they'd fight a lot."_

_"I think having you around to make sure they stay in love is a help too," Jim said, going over to the side as Eliza had asked if she could jump in._

_"Thanks," Julia replied. She watched him put her little sister out on the edge and she then said, "Can I jump too?"_

_"Don't dive in okay," Jim said, picking her up then._

_"I don't know how to do that yet; Daddy and Mommy are teaching me," Julia assured him. She hugged him as he set her down on the edge for her to sit there and she smiled as she felt Eliza joining her in that and together they told him they loved him. She then added, "Can't wait to get to do more with you!" before she and her little sister stood up, eager to begin their weekend of cheering up their grandfather even mor_ e.

* * *

"Julia?" Beckett asked, touching her daughter's cheek. "Hey, you okay?" she asked with a smile as the little girl looked at her, seeming to be slightly taken aback.

"Yeah, I was thinking about when Grandpapa was here," Julia replied, smiling. She then frowned a little and asked, "Is he okay?"

"He was yesterday when we talked to him," Beckett replied, not surprised she was worried about him thinking of that weekend. "You could tell he was sad couldn't you?"

"Yeah, I knew he was missing Grandmama," Julia replied. "Does he feel sad a lot?"

"Not all the time but once in a while he does," Beckett said, sitting on the top step with her. She wrapped her arm around the little girl and said, "He and your grandmama were very much in love."

Sighing at that, Julia said, "And now he's all alone." She watched her father helping Eliza swim towards them and then she gasped asking, "Can he come live here?"

"He could," Castle said as they neared the steps, hurrying to speak before his wife could.

"You would be okay with that?" Beckett asked in amusement.

Shrugging Castle said, "If you and I had stayed at the loft or moved into that new apartment I should say, Mother would still be there."

Seeing that he was serious, Beckett nodded and said, "That's true. I'll broach the subject to him if he ever retires. But that's a big if."

"Yeah I'm surprised the firm hasn't tried to convince him to do that," Castle said, setting Eliza on the top step. "Come on love," he then told her as he took her hand.

"Where are we going?" Beckett asked though she didn't let him take her off the step.

"Just to swim," Castle said. "To the other end and then back, Julia'll watch Eliza, right?"

"I will and she has her vest on," Julia said, giggling as her little sister started to push at their mother. "And you're gonna be right there Mommy."

"Okay, okay I'm going," Beckett said, laughter in her voice as she stepped down. She glanced back at the girls for a moment and then dove under the water just before the halfway point, sensing Castle doing the same next to her.

Watching their parents, Eliza giggled and said, "Daddy wants to kiss Mommy."

"Is that why he did that?" Julia asked. When her little sister nodded she smiled and said, "Well we can't stare at them when they stop to, want to play a clapping game?"

At the opposite end of the pool, Beckett held onto the edge and looked at her husband, about to comment on him being a little behind her. But before she could speak he was kissing her and deeply. She moaned for a brief moment and then placed her hand on the back of his neck before they had to part. " _So you get me over here to do that_ ," she teased him.

" _I did_ ," Castle said before he looked back at the girls.

"They're fine," Beckett said, glancing back with him and seeing the two were by then kicking their legs in the water as fast as they could. "Were you serious?" she then asked him.

"Would you be okay with him living with us?" Castle asked.

"Of course, he'd get to spend a lot more time with Julia and Eliza," Beckett replied. "I do worry about him now, not because I don't think he could live on his own. It's just these instances of him feeling depressed are happening more frequently."

"I noticed," Castle replied with a nod. "Hopefully this summer will cheer him up."

"It will," Beckett replied with a slight nod. She then reached over to her husband, cupping his cheek before he closed the gap between them to kiss her again. That one was like the first but they lingered a little longer before they parted to press their foreheads together gently.

"They have their special smiles," Julia whispered to her sister as they glanced at their parents quickly.

"I see," Eliza replied, beaming. "Now what?"

"We have to wait until they come back," Julia said simply. "Do you want to do something?"

"Jump," Eliza replied. She then gasped and said, "You catch me Jules!"

"No! Eliza you can't," Julia said, throwing her arms around her sister to try and stop her from getting out.

"Eliza," Beckett said quickly and a little sternly as she and Castle were swimming back to the steps. "If you want to jump sweetie you need to wait for us."

"Kay," the toddler said, her shoulders slumping. "Can I jump?" she asked, standing up once her sister had let her go.

"Go ahead," Castle said, watching her. When Eliza had jumped off the step into the water he was quick to help her back up before picking her up. "Alright, I have to head inside soon," he told her as he set her on the outside of the pool, taking off her vest.

"You're cooking?" Julia asked as she sat on the step with Beckett.

"Yep and I would appreciate it if you could get me some vegetables from the garden," Castle replied, surprised when the toddler didn't jump.

"Why Daddy?" Eliza asked.

"I'm going to make a stir fry and some chicken, one of your mom's favorites," Castle said.

"For what reason?" Beckett called teasingly.

"Because I love you?" Castle asked.

"What do you have for dessert?" Beckett asked austerely, her tone lacking any kind of ire though.

"Just something to celebrate," Castle said, laughing then when Eliza still wouldn't jump.

"Like what?" Julia asked him.

"That next week you two will be done with school," Castle told them.

"I can't wait for summer," Julia said excitedly as she hugged her mother while Eliza finally jumped into the water. "Especially this one… but I don't want Alexis to stay there."

"Shh, I know sweetie but it's still a while until then," Beckett replied.

"Any reason why the trip got pushed back?" Castle asked, setting Eliza back out.

"She didn't tell me either Rick," Beckett said, smiling. At Alexis' request, their European trip got pushed back to the middle of the month but she hadn't told them why exactly. "She might want a trip with friends who're not going to Oxford," she then suggested.

"True," Castle said, thinking about that as he carried Eliza back to them. "Okay, so I'm going to get out and cook after I-"

"We'll come with you," Beckett quickly said, interrupting him. "We've been swimming for a pretty long time," she said as she glanced at Julia who looked like she was about to protest.

"Can we pick the vegetables now?" the little girl then asked.

"Sure," Castle said as Beckett was looking at him to answer that.

"Okay, let's go!" Julia said, getting out of the pool immediately.

Laughing softly as Eliza scrambled to follow her sister, Beckett got out with Castle and after they had rinsed off at the shower and dried off their daughters and then themselves they let the two lead the way to their vegetable garden which they had started that year. "So I guess it was it a good idea to make this," she said as they went around to the side of the house.

"I think so," Castle said, going into the little built on shelves against the house that he and Beckett had had put in. After the Dixon case and the hired intruder they'd blocked off the backyard from the front a lot more safely than it had been before and had decided the land on the west of the house could be used to make a fairly large vegetable garden. The girls had eagerly helped them out from getting the planters ready to planting what they'd gotten as well. And once the vegetables themselves had started appearing, the two had gone every afternoon to look at them.

"What do we get?" Julia asked as her father handed her a little basket.

"A couple of the chocolate peppers, the red ones and we'll check on the celery and chard," Castle told them. When Julia and Eliza were over at the peppers, he went to where Beckett was looking at the chard and asked, "Is it ready?"

"It is," Beckett replied. "So is the cabbage."

"Thanks," Castle replied as he let her drop the vegetables into the basket he'd brought over. "That's enough Julia," he called, seeing that she had picked what he needed.

"Is the celery ready, Eliza wants to know," Julia said as she and her sister went over to them.

"It is," Castle replied.

"What about peaches?" Eliza asked.

"That's going to be a while," Beckett said with a smile as they went after the girls to the house. "The tree needs to grow more." She went over to where Eliza had detoured to, standing under one of four fruit trees she and Castle had planted around the vegetable garden.

"All of them?" Eliza asked, starting to run over to the plum tree.

"Come on," Beckett said, grabbing her hand.

"No pears Mommy?" Julia asked eagerly.

"Not yet," Beckett replied. "And no nectarines either. But we'll buy them from the Farmer's Market the next time we go," she assured her as they eventually made their way into the house. "Julia," she called.

"We're upstairs love," Castle said from the top of the staircase. "She's taking a shower."

"Want to take Eliza?" Beckett asked. "Or do you need to start?"

"I'm good but it's going to be a short bath," Castle replied. "Eliza…" he said warningly, thought not strictly as the toddler was frowning at them.

"That way you can watch your daddy cooking faster," Beckett said reassuringly.

Eliza then rushed over to her father and waved to her mother as she was carried away to her bedroom. "No playing Daddy?" she asked him.

"I'm afraid not, your sister's not playing in the shower you know," Castle told her.

"Oh, kay, we play after?" Eliza said.

"Of course," Castle told her, kissing her temple.

At that point they disappeared into the room and Beckett smiled, hurrying over to hers and Castle's so she could change and dry her hair. She went back to Julia's room after putting her hair up into a ponytail and heard the water was off, sitting down on the edge of the bed to wait for her oldest to come out. "Hey," she said, smiling as Julia opened the door and then froze at seeing her. "Surprised you?"

"Yeah," the little girl said with a smile. "Eliza?"

"Your daddy's giving her her bath," Beckett said. "I decided to wait for you to go downstairs."

"Love," Castle said, standing in the doorway and putting Eliza down. "She wants you to do her hair."

"My brush!" the toddler cried, suddenly stopping and racing back to take it from her father.

"Don't run Eliza," Castle said quickly.

"Sorry," the toddler replied.

"I'll be downstairs," Castle said.

"How'd you change so fast?" Beckett asked as he was already dressed and his hair was dry.

"I'm good like that," Castle replied, smirking when his wife rolled her eyes. He went into the room then and he strode over to her, leaning down as he cupped the back of her head. Though their daughters were watching he nearly crushed his lips against Beckett's, feeling a rush when she responded to him a second later. When he finally jerked himself away from her, he breathed out heavily and said, "Yeah, I'll get dinner."

Watching their father leave the girls turned to their mother, sharing a smile as she seemed to be frozen.

Shaking herself then as she saw the look her daughters exchanged, Beckett quickly said, "Alright, do you want me to brush your hair too?"

"Please," Julia said. She waited until her mother had finished with Eliza's hair before sitting in front of her to have hers brushed out.

Going downstairs once they were ready, Beckett set Eliza on one of the chairs at the island before helping Julia up on the other. Though she'd had the little girl bring over some paper and crayons for them to use, she saw the girls were soon watching their father flipping the vegetables and noodles in the wok. She smiled as Eliza oohed at the food flying in the air before she kissed her forehead and then went to the stove where he had the chicken ready on the side.

"You-" Castle started to say when he glanced over at her and saw that she was about to pick up the package for the honey sauce.

"You'll never finish if you make all of this on your own," Beckett said simply, glancing at him out of the corner of her eye. She smiled when he paused and then nodded and turned back to continue.

"Do we have to set the table?" Julia asked as she watched them making dinner.

"Yes but not yet," Beckett said absently. She and Castle eventually worked together to finish the honey chicken before they got the girls down so Julia could set the table.

When they were all gathered around the table, Julia asked, "When is Gram going to come?"

"Next Saturday," Castle replied. "She's going to try and come in the middle of the week so she's here for your last day of school. She'll let us know when exactly."

"I wish Alexis could come," Julia said, watching as her father put some of the stir fry on her plate before giving it to her.

"Alright, enjoy everyone," Castle said once he served himself last and had sat down.

"What can we do after dinner?" Julia asked after they'd taken their first bites.

"You're already thinking that far ahead?" Castle asked with a smile.

"I'm just wondering if we can watch a movie," Julia protested. "We haven't done that in a long time."

"We can," Beckett said, smiling when the other three looked at her. "But we need to finish here first. Eliza?" she then said to the toddler.

Looking over at her then after eating some of the noodles, Eliza smiled when her mother asked her how her day at school had gone. Once she had swallowed she said, "I told you."

"Julia didn't hear," Castle pointed out.

"Oh! I played," Eliza said quickly to her big sister. "And I learned z is for zebra."

"Sounds like you had fun," Julia replied with a smile.

"Now you say," Eliza told her sister in a very firm tone of voice.

Giggling briefly, Julia nodded and said, "Okay, well, Mrs. Watson talked about our tests next week. And then she gave us papers to fill out to use to study."

"You're not nervous are you?" Castle asked.

"No but I hate tests, they make me feel like I get questions wrong that I know for sure are right," Julia replied, frowning slightly. She then smiled and said, "Dawn wants me to go over to her house next week to study, I almost forgot to ask if that would be okay."

"That's fine," Beckett said, smiling herself then as she thought of when she'd studied with her elementary school friends. "And you should have your friends over here too one day."

"Sure," Julia replied eagerly. "And we can make snacks and everything for us?"

"You can," Castle replied. "We'll help you pick out some good brain food."

Giggling, Eliza said, "Your head eats!"

"Not exactly," Beckett said as she carefully wiped the toddler's mouth clean of the honey sauce. "It's to make you smarter."

"Oh, like this?" Eliza asked, waving her fork with the honey chicken on it.

"Well, not that," Castle said. "When it gets close to that day, we'll show you what we mean." When the toddler nodded he said, "What else did you do?"

After she related her day after recess, Julia asked her parents, "Did you do anything today?"

"We did," Beckett replied. She paused as she felt her phone vibrate in her pocket then but quickly told herself to check the text message later before saying, "We planned our next book out a little more."

"The one with the costume party?" Julia asked them. When her parents both nodded she said, "Did you think about having Paul and Anna dress like Maria and Derek did?" having referred to her parents' characters that way since she'd been told their names.

"We will, we were planning on having a little fun with that," Castle replied, looking at his wife with a grin.

Rolling her eyes though she was smiling, Beckett said, "We'll just have them joke about dressing up."

"Will they kiss?" Julia asked.

"You want them to stay together?" Castle asked, smiling still.

"Of course! It's you and Mommy in the book, like Nikki and Rook," Julia replied in a matter of fact tone.

"Sweetie," Beckett said as she took Eliza's fork from her and speared the piece of chicken the toddler had been pushing around on her plate. "You do know that while in the end those characters were based on us, we're not going to be the same as them."

"I know," Julia replied, smiling as she watched her mother feed her little sister. "I know they have fights." When her parents looked at her then she told them, "Barbara said her parents were talking about your last one. And that they were fighting in there, she was worried that you were fighting for real, I told her uh-uh."

"I think we exorcize our arguments through them," Castle said with a smile to his wife.

"More than likely," Beckett said with a nod, leaning over and pressing her lips to his. "But we'll take your advice for their costumes."

"You know what love?" Castle asked his wife as she finished off her food; the last to do so that night.

"Yes Rick?" Beckett asked, smiling at him.

"I think we should do the same," Castle told her simply.

"Oh you do," Beckett stated.

"Yeah!" Julia said so enthusiastically that Eliza jumped in her high chair and squealed with joy. She laughed at her sister and then said, "Yes, you should dress like Maria and Derek did for the Quickstep for Halloween. Like Bonnie and Clyde."

"It's still pretty ironic," Castle said to Beckett. "And I think you would look amazing in that dress love."

"Sure you wouldn't want to?" Beckett shot back.

Giggling at the way her father wrinkled his nose, Eliza said, "You wear the dress Mommy."

"You think I should?" Beckett asked, wiping her mouth clean again. When the toddler nodded she said, "That would be great but how would I get my hands on one?"

"Gram," Julia said simply.

"She'd do it," Castle replied with a nod. "Especially since she wouldn't have to do a thing for me."

"No, she wouldn't," Beckett said in amusement since his costume would be a suit. "Well, we'll see what she thinks and let her decide." And with that she stood up to start clearing the table before Castle was quick to join her and they started to get everything put away and cleaned up while the girls went over to the family room to wait for them.

"What is it?" Castle asked as he saw his wife moving out of the corner of his eye. Looking at her he saw that she was looking at her phone and said, "You got a text while we were eating?"

Frowning a little at the message, Beckett didn't answer him before she said, "It's from Skye."

"What does it say?" Castle asked, perplexed as well since the woman usually e-mailed Beckett.

"She wants us to call her when we have a chance, she needs to talk to us," she replied.

"After the girls are in bed," Castle said. When his wife nodded he replied, "I wonder if she wants us to visit."

"She would have e-mailed me," Beckett pointed out. "And I've told her already about our trip."

"We could still go," Castle replied.

Beckett smiled and said, "You want another weekend alone?"

"That would be nice but no, I'd love to take the girls out to LA," Castle said. "Oh and to San Diego."

Shaking her head Beckett replied, "Europe first love and then we'll think about other trips."

"Oh, alright," Castle said with a deep sigh. "Sorry but you know I tell you I'm serious about taking you three around the world," he said to her as he finished the last dish and then started to dry his hands.

"I know and you will," Beckett said, stepping up to him and kissing him tenderly on the lips. "Come on," she told him when she pulled away and tried to lead him to the family room by the hand.

"Hold on, you forgot dessert," Castle said, taking her with him over to the fridge.

"Did I?" Beckett then asked him. When her husband turned to her she laughed softly and said, "I honestly did. Let me see." She watched as he took out a pink box from the back of the fridge and looked at the four cupcakes he set down. "They'll love this," she told him seriously.

"I was hoping," Castle said, smiling as she kissed his cheek. "Come on," he told her then, taking her hand with his free one and going to the family room.

"Dessert?" Julia gasped when she saw the plate her father was carrying.

"Yep but hold on and let me put it down for you guys to see," Castle said. He put the plate on top of the coffee table and smiled at his wife as the girls squealed together at the same time looking at the fondant decorating the top of them.

"Did you two pick a movie?" Beckett then asked the two.

"Yeah, _Despicable Me 2_ ," Julia said, her sister nodding rapidly next to her. "Can we eat those now?" she asked her mother.

"We need to wait for your daddy," Beckett told them, smiling widely.

"We can pick the one we want?" Julia asked, glancing at Eliza who was staring at the tops of the cupcakes intently.

"Yes sweetie we'll pick when the movie starts," Beckett said, cupping her face and making her tilt her head up towards her.

"They're pretty Mommy," Eliza said with a smile. "Like you."

"Mommy's beautiful," Julia corrected her quickly. "But they are nice."

"Okay I put the movie on pause so we could pick," Castle said. "Eliza since you're the youngest you can pick first."

Pursing her lips the toddler then smiled and took the cupcake with a purple octopus on top of it. "It's cute!" she said.

Looking at the three left Julia picked out the one with a turtle on top of it and said, "This one's cute too but yours you can pick don't have any animals," she told her parents.

"Mine does," Beckett said, picking up the one with a sea star and sand dollar on it. "Sorry Rick."

"No, this one is still nice, though you know coral is alive," Castle said as he got the one with rocks, coral and sea grass on it. "Are we ready now?"

"Press play Daddy," Julia said, pretending to sound impatient.

Castle did so and he started to eat his cupcake as the others were doing the same. When they'd finished he leaned over to Eliza since she was in front of him and he wiped off her mouth as it was smeared with fondant. When he'd finished he leaned back and wrapped his arm around Beckett, feeling her press against him after she had brought her legs up on the couch. He rubbed her upper arm gently as they were watching the movie, laughing with the girls at the comedic moments. At some point Macca came in from going outside and lay with his head on Julia's lap on the floor.

When the movie had finished, Beckett picked up Eliza who kicked a little before sighing and slumping in her arms. "Sorry, it's time for bed," she said, kissing her temple.

"I know," the toddler said with a deeper sigh. She yawned and then said, "You too?"

"Not yet, but I'm gonna get dressed in my pajamas," Julia replied as they left the room and then headed up the stairs.

Eliza didn't reply to that and inside of her room she helped her mother change her until she was taken over to the bathroom by Castle. She helped him brush her teeth and after she had rinsed out her mouth said, "I'm tired Daddy."

"I can tell," Castle said, picking her up off the step stool and carrying her out to her bed where Julia was coming into the room; having changed into her pajamas.

"I'm surprised you're admitting it sweetie," Beckett said with a smile as she pulled down the covers before Castle set their youngest on the mattress.

Eliza didn't say anything, merely yawned before rubbing her cheek with her fingertips. She felt someone kissing her other cheek and said, "Night Jules, love you."

"Love you too Lizzy," Julia replied with a smile before stepping aside for her father to say goodnight.

"Sweet dreams Eliza," Castle told her. "I love you."

"Love you too Daddy," the toddler replied, her voice getting slow before she shared a kiss with him.

"I think you had a great day," Beckett said as she sat next to her. "But don't forget tomorrow we'll be heading out to the Farmer's Market."

"Kay, love you Mommy," Eliza replied with a sleepy smile.

"I love you Eliza," Beckett said, sharing a kiss with her. She then stood and tucked her in before she went with Castle and Julia to the doorway. By then the toddler was fast asleep and she closed the light before they went to Julia's room next door.

"So what do you want to do now?" Castle asked the little girl as he and Beckett watched her go over to her computer.

"Can I just read?" Julia asked.

"Let us read to you," Beckett said with a smile as she sat down on the edge of the bed and Castle sat next to her.

"Okay," Julia replied, handing her the book. "How much can we read?"

"Did you brush your teeth?" Beckett said. When Julia opened her mouth but then paused and hunched her shoulders down with a sheepish smile, she said, "Go and then we'll read."

"Who's going to be taking care of this?" Castle said, tapping the front of the book.

"Taking care," Beckett said with a smile. "I think you will."

"You want to be read to too?" Castle asked.

"Wait," Julia said, coming out in a hurry then. "Can you tell me a story instead?"

"We could," Castle replied. "You wouldn't rather hear this story?" he said as he held up the book.

"No, no, I want a story," Julia said in a rush. "About Anna and Paul at the dance."

"What?" Beckett asked, confused hearing that.

"Yeah, just tell me a story of what they would do if they didn't have a case to work on," Julia replied, nodding her head before she climbed up on the bed.

"I can do that," Castle said, glancing at his wife and seeing the hesitant expression on her face. He stood with Beckett and waited for her to tuck their daughter in before she sat next to Julia, arms wrapped around her. Sitting down himself, he thought for a moment before he said; narrating as if he was writing; "Paul watched as Anna stepped out into the bedroom, keeping his gaze on her as she walked straight up to him telling her, 'I had a feeling you'd look great in a costume.' When she smirked at him he was slightly startled before she told him, 'We'll talk about this later, we have a party to go to.' And with that they grabbed their masks before going out."

"Are they fancy masks or just the black ones like Maria and Derek had on?" Julia interrupted when her father paused then.

"The black ones," Beckett replied as she and Castle looked at each other.

"Yeah, so they go down to the ballroom of the manor," he continued.

"Wait, you're not saying it like you did before," Julia protested.

"It's going to take a while," Castle explained. "So they go down to the ballroom and they start to dance. There are a man and a woman there who try and separate Paul and Anna but they don't let them as they're holding onto each other tightly."

"Very tightly?" Julia asked with a wide smile on her face.

"Extremely," Beckett answered before Castle could. "You didn't think I would figure out what you're referring to there?"

"Well… I thought maybe not," Castle told her with a smile. He looked at their oldest and when he saw the confused expression she had he explained, "Something like that happened when we went to Canada."

"Oh, so you were holding onto each other too tightly?" Julia asked. When her mother sighed next to her she said, "You were separated?" her tone reflecting her shock.

"We were," Beckett admitted.

"Oh-" Julia started to say.

"We were taken by surprise a little," Castle interrupted. "Believe me we didn't want to be."

"They didn't try to kiss you did they?" Julia asked.

"We didn't give them a chance to," Beckett said, looking at her husband and hoping he could tell she didn't want him to mention the man had tried with her. "So keep going, we should hurry and wrap the story up before it gets too late."

"Oh, exactly," Castle said. "So Paul and Anna are dancing and eventually they step outside for some fresh air. And before they kiss they decide that coming was the thing they needed for their relationship, feeling like they were very much in love."

"And then they kissed?" Julia asked.

"And then they kissed," Beckett echoed with a smile.

"That's a good story," Julia said with a satisfied sigh. "I wish that could happen in the book."

"It pretty much happened in real life," Castle replied. "Though of course, your mom and I were married at the time."

"Are they gonna get married eventually?" Julia asked.

"Most likely," Beckett said, looking at her husband.

"Really? And when were you going to inform me of that?" Castle inquired teasingly, not surprised when Julia giggled softly at that. He got up then from the bed as his wife got up and said, "Time?"

"Time, we were late again with Eliza," Beckett replied. She stepped aside to let him lean over, sharing a kiss with their daughter.

"I love you Julia, sweet dreams," Castle told her.

"Thanks Daddy, I love you too," Julia replied with a smile before she hugged him tightly. When her mother walked up to her she threw her arms around her neck and said, "I love you Mommy, it was so fun today."

"I'm glad it was for you," Beckett replied before they shared a kiss. She smiled and then pressed her lips to her forehead murmuring, "I love you too. Now get some sleep and we'll see you in the morning."

"Okay, night," Julia said before she lay down. After she was tucked in she watched her parents go to the doorway; patting Macca on the way; and then sighed, turning onto her side and closing her eyes before she heard them leaving.

Downstairs in their office, Beckett took out her phone and dialed Skye's number as she and Castle sat on their desk chairs.

"Hullo?" the woman said on the other end.

"Skye, it's Castle and Beckett," she replied.

"Ah, thank you for calling back," Skye said, sounding slightly rushed. "I have a bit of a request for you… that I'm hoping you'll take."

"Depends on what it is," Castle replied.

"Well, yesterday an old friend of mine from the NTSB was murdered," Skye answered. "And I'm currently near Seattle, so I was only told about it today."

"Do you want us to help the LAPD to investigate?" Castle asked sharing a slightly confused looked with Beckett.

"No, well not exactly," Skye said before hesitating a little. "No, what I'd like is for you to come and help me investigate it ourselves." When there was silence on the other end she hurried to say, "It's not going to be a full scale investigation. I just need to know what happened to him; for his wife and myself; and my contact with the LAPD isn't there at the moment."

"So you can't find out," Beckett said. When she got a yes from the woman she said, "I don't know if we can go. When would you want us to fly out?"

"Sunday, I can't finish things up here with my investigation until then," Skye told them. "And I know you'll have to stay here for a while during the last week of school for your daughters but… I'm desperate, I'm sorry."

"Do you mind if I put you on mute for a second?" Beckett asked.

"No, go ahead and discuss this, you can call me back if you'd like," Skye said.

"No, just mute," Castle said, meeting his wife's eyes then. When she had pressed the button he quickly said, "You think it'd be possible to do it." He then quickly held up his hand when he knew she was going to speak and said, "I know, I know we've done it before but circumstances are a little different this time around."

"And then there's the girls…" Beckett replied.

"Yeah, that bothers me too," Castle replied. "What if this investigation takes so long it makes us stay past next Friday?"

"You can go," a voice said from the doorway which made Castle and Beckett jump and turn to their oldest. Julia smiled at them and said, "You can go help that lady, Eliza and I are just gonna have a last day of school. If we were gonna graduate I would say no but it's just us getting our tests back in my class."

Looking at each other, Beckett sighed before she then said, "Did your sister like your grandpapa watching you?"

"Could he come watch us again? With Gram?" Julia asked hopefully. When her parents nodded; though Beckett hadn't talked to Castle about that; she said quickly, "Yeah she had so much fun. Ask him."

"Alright, hold on," Beckett said. She took the phone off mute and said, "Skye?"

"Yeah?" the woman quickly said.

"We'll come and-" Beckett began to say.

"Great, thank you so, so much," Skye replied. "I'll get tickets for you, so you'll land around the same time as me in the same terminal and we'll meet there in LAX. And you can stay at my home; we have a small guesthouse out back. Now I wonder if you might stay a little longer after the case is solved?"

"You assume we'll solve the case," Castle commented.

"Well… yes, I don't think I make a mistake in doing that," Skye replied. "But just a few days, I'd like to offer you the use of my dad's beach house in Laguna Beach to thank you for coming out."

Beckett wanted to say no but the earnestness in the woman's voice was too sincere for her to say anything negative to that. So finally she said, "Alright but you don't really need to do that."

"No, I do," Skye said firmly. "Okay, I'll fill you in on details when I see you Sunday in LA. Thank you again."

When they said goodbye and had hung up, Castle turned to Julia and said, "Why are you down here little lady?"

"Little lady?" Julia asked, wrinkling her nose.

"What? That's not cute?" Castle asked Beckett as she had the same expression on her face.

"Not really but why are you here Julia?" Beckett asked her daughter.

"I was thirsty and I heard you talking," the little girl replied.

"Okay, let's get you a glass of water and then put you back to bed," Castle said, standing up with his wife. They headed over to the kitchen where he got a glass of water and then handed it over to Beckett before picking Julia up.

Once back in her bed upstairs, the little girl took the glass her mother handed her and took a long sip before she shared a kiss with both of them. "I'm glad you're helping her. She's the one that came here that summer before isn't she?" Julia asked.

"She was, with her twin daughters the ones from Ireland who have her British accent," Beckett replied, remembering that visit from Skye, Mary and their daughters.

"Good, she'll make sure you're safe since she likes you so much," Julia replied.

"Well, she and your mom did become friends," Castle said. "But for now, get some sleep sweetheart."

"I will, thanks Mommy, Daddy," Julia replied, waving to them before she laid back. She watched them leave and sighed, thinking already of what she and her sister could do with their grandparents before turning onto her side again and closing her eyes to fall asleep.

Inside their room, Beckett turned to her husband and said, "I'm a little…"

"Startled? Yeah, that call was pretty abrupt," Castle said, closing the door and locking it. "But hey, I must be psychic in a way."

"In a way," Beckett said, smirking at him. "She asked us for a case, not a visit."

"But then it's going to be a visit… it'll be interesting to see the beach house," Castle mused.

"It will," Beckett said. "Get dressed," she told him. "We need to do a number of things to get ready for this trip of ours."

Nodding, Castle watched her go, his mind going away from their investigation already, for some reason the way she'd cupped his cheek before leaving reminding him of when he'd been sick the month before. He smiled to himself as he hurried to change into his pajamas, unable to help recalling the morning when he'd been inside their library, trying to keep warm with the rainstorm going on outside.

* * *

_"Hey love," Beckett said, coming into the room. She winced a little when her husband started to cough harshly and said, "Not feeling any better?"_

_"Sort of, the medicine is doing its job," Castle replied, looking up at her from the armchair that he was sitting on. "You've got to go?"_

_"Yeah, they're going to be late. But I'm not walking, obviously," Beckett said, nodding to the window that was being streaked with rain._

_"That's true," Castle said, nodding slightly as he followed her gaze. "I don't know if I feel up to reading too much."_

_"It is warmer in this room," Beckett said. She leaned over and pressed her lips to his forehead saying, "Try to read a little, or maybe take a quick nap."_

_"I just got up," Castle protested with a sigh. "I'll read… something."_

_"Alright, I'll be back as soon as possible," Beckett told him, pressing a kiss to the top of his head and cupping his cheek._

_"Yeah, be careful my love," Castle said, sounding a little frustrated as he wanted to kiss her badly._

_"I will," Beckett promised before she left him._

_Listening to her talking to the girls as they then left, Castle sighed again and looked around, seeing that Macca was on the floor in front of him. "So just you and me boy," he told the dog before he settled back. He told himself that he wasn't going to sleep, just rest before he grabbed one of the books on the shelves. But what felt like an instant later he was jerking awake and looking up at his wife as he breathed hard._

_"Sorry, I just came back from taking them to school," Beckett told him, stroking the back of his head._

_"No, it's okay," Castle said, coughing._

_"Yeah, you're going back to bed," Beckett said, frowning in her concern before she made him get up and go with her over to their bedroom. "I'll be back," she said after turning on the fireplace._

_Castle watched her go, frowning heavily then himself as he was missing getting the chance to kiss her. They had kissed each other on the cheek since the day before; when he'd realized that he was getting her cold; but that was as far as they went as he didn't want to risk her having a relapse. He crossed his arms over his chest before he heard her coming back, and looked up as she came around the bed. "Wow, full tea," he commented, seeing the teapot and mugs, as well as honey and some shortbread cookies._

_"Not exactly," Beckett replied with a smile. "Julia would be very quick to point that out."_

_"Then a breakfast tea," Castle said, watching her set the tray down and pour out the first cup. "What kind?"_

_"Spearmint, it might help your throat," Beckett said, handing the mug to him after putting a good deal of honey in it. After getting her mug, she stopped to take off her shoes and then climbed onto the bed, facing her husband._

_"I don't know Kate, if I get you sick-" Castle said in slight concern as he felt she was leaning in too close._

_"Stop, I'll be fine," Beckett told him. "I had a good deal of orange juice and I need this since this is as far as we can go," she said as they watched her free hand take his. Squeezing it she watched him take a sip of the tea before sighing deeply in pleasure and she did the same herself; though without the sigh. "Good?"_

_"Yeah, thanks so much for this," Castle said. He took a few more sips and said, "You know, I wish I could thank her."_

_"Who?" Beckett asked in confusion._

_"Your mom," Castle told her seriously. "I know she had to have been like this with your father."_

_"Well, they weren't so frustrated not being able to kiss," Beckett said, thinking back to when she could remember her father being sick and her mother caring for him. "But she was very solicitous of him and worried; she always was concerned about his health."_

_"Your dad's in pretty good shape," Castle replied in slight surprise._

_"The men of his family have had some issues with their lungs," Beckett replied. "And when my dad gets sick-"_

_"His lungs are always the worst part," Castle finished for her. When she nodded he squeezed their by then laced fingers and told her, "I'm pretty healthy."_

_"I want to make sure you stay that way," Beckett replied, smiling at him. She looked into his eyes and said, her voice nearly choked with desire, "I wanted you, so badly yesterday."_

_"I did too, until this took over," Castle said, aggravation in every inch of his tone. "But I'll get better sooner," he assured her. They were quiet then; drinking the rest of their tea until she moved to refill their mugs. "Love?" he asked her._

_"Hmm?" Beckett replied, busy trying not to overfill the cups._

_"Can I ask you about your parents, how they were together in front of you?" Castle said a little hesitantly at first._

_"Oh, they were affectionate," Beckett replied. "But I don't think they were as much as you and I are together."  
"But they were in love," Castle replied. When his wife nodded he said, "Is that what you wanted?"_

_"Of course, my father was very much in love with my mother; it's why he's never remarried," Beckett told him, sitting with him once they had their mugs. "And she felt the same way. But they were more private with their love; they tended to kiss when they were surer they were alone."_

_"Do you mind we sometimes don't bother to check?" Castle asked her, studying her closely to make sure that wasn't the case._

_Smiling widely, Beckett said, "No," just that, and in a firm tone of voice so he would have no doubt as to the validity of her reply. "I love what we have together Rick and I wouldn't want to change it in the slightest, okay?"_

_"Yeah, neither would I," Castle said, staring into her eyes again. He started to lean towards her but stopped himself when he realized what he was doing before he groaned saying, "I wish I could kiss you Kate."_

_"Screw it Rick," Beckett said briefly before she was stetting down her tea in a hurry. She threw her arms around her husband, not surprised when he froze a little. She pulled away, a little dismayed at the fact that he wasn't responding. But when he turned to set down his mug she was smiling as he came back to her and they kissed deeply before they slid down on the bed, indulging themselves in their kisses and not caring about the consequences in the slightest._

* * *

"Earth to Rick," Beckett called, waving her hand in front of her husband's face. When he jumped and looked at her she smiled saying, "Nice trip?"

"Just remembering you taking care of me when I was sick," Castle said. He smiled when she did again and said, "You're a great nurse. Even better since you kissed me, a lot."

"I had to help in some way," Beckett said. She started to laugh when her husband pulled her onto his lap, wrapping her arms around him tightly before they fell into a kiss. She parted her lips for his seeking tongue, loving the way he held her so closely as they tilted their heads back and forth. Their tongues dueling together roughly, she was incredibly annoyed when she had to pull back to breathe and she pressed her forehead against his saying, "So you're not thinking about the case?"

"Oh, that reminds me…" Castle said, reaching for his nightstand to grab his phone. He tried to search on the internet for the investigation the NTSB investigator wanted their help with, but couldn't find anything. "Maybe we should have asked her for a name?"

"I think she wants to wait until we speak face to face for that," Beckett commented.

"Oh," Castle said eagerly as his wife climbed over him and then went to turn off the lights. "It's a conspiracy; I'm loving this case already."

Walking back to the bed, Beckett gave him a look before she got on and they lay down at the same time. "We'll have to see if that's the situation," she told him. "But it's funny; we're going back to LA, for another case."

"Yeah we've never been able to go as tourists together," Castle said. He blanched and when his wife asked him what was wrong he said, "I have been with others."

"We can be together, after the case," Beckett reminded him before she leaned over to kiss him. "Until Sunday though let's-"

"Focus on the girls," Castle said at the same time as her. Nodding he replied, "Good idea. But for now… there's something else… I'd like to focus on entirely."

Beckett smiled at the way he worded that and she let him kiss her, both of them starting out as frantically as they could. Eventually things became a little rougher as her husband forcefully turned her onto her back and she wrapped her right leg around him, pressing down on the small of his back to feel his body against her more securely. "I love you Rick," she whispered to him when they parted to breathe.

"I love you too Kate," Castle murmured, staring into her eyes. "Let me show you…"

Kissing again, the two took their time in that instance and slowly explored one another as they let their bodies decide if they wanted to go further. In the meantime their rapid pulses and meeting tongues were enough, both Castle and Beckett relishing in the feel and taste of each other as they felt their love they had just put into words to one another.


	3. Gonna Write Words Oh So Sweet

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The title of this chapter is a lyric from the song I'm Gonna Sit Right Down and Write Myself A Letter written by Joe Young, the version I've taken from is sung by Paul McCartney from his album Kisses on the Bottom.

"Okay, we have everything," Beckett said as she put her passport away in her bag. "Are you ready?"

"All set," Castle replied, since she'd been talking to him. It was two days after Skye had called them and he and Beckett were about to leave that first Sunday of June to head to JFK. "So we should say goodbye," he said, looking at the girls. "You two are still okay with this?"

"Yes Daddy," Julia said firmly. "We'll be okay, Grandpapa is here to take care of us remember?"

"I do," Castle replied, smiling slightly at Jim who was standing in the entry with them. "Alright so I'll go ahead and say goodbye to you first." He sat on the bench by the front door and took them into his arms as he said, "I love you Julia and I love you too Eliza. You know we'll miss you."

"We know," Julia replied. "And I'll miss you-"

"Me too," Eliza interrupted quickly.

"And I love you Daddy," Julia said, hugging him around the neck tightly. She shared a kiss with him and said, "Take care of Mommy?"

"Always," Castle told her seriously. He pressed his lips to her forehead and said, "We'll be careful." At that point Eliza's arms snaked around his neck and he turned to her, sharing a kiss with her. "Will you be okay?" he asked her.

"Yeah," Eliza replied with a nod. "Stay with Mommy," she said sternly. When her father nodded she then kissed his cheek saying, "I love you Daddy."

Beckett smiled as she watched her husband hugging the two girls before he moved to let her sit down where he'd been. "Your daddy's right, we will miss you and will try to come back home as soon as possible," she told them after they'd pulled back to look at her.

"You're going to stay a little more than that," Julia reminded her.

"We might not stay at the beach house," Castle commented.

"You could," Jim and Julia said at the same time.

Looking at her grandfather and giggling softly, the little girl then said, "You can, Grandpapa can stay that long. And you can relax after the case."

"We'll see what happens," Beckett said before she shared a kiss with her oldest. "I love you Julia."

"Love you Mommy, a lot," the little girl replied. "I'll miss you but I know you will help Skye."  
"We'll definitely try," Castle commented with a smile.

"And I love you too Eliza," Beckett then said to the toddler.

"Love you Mommy, lots, lots," she replied quickly. She giggled and said, "You and Daddy kiss a lot."

"It's not exactly that kind of trip," Beckett replied, amusement tingeing her tone. "But we'll have fun together after the case." She hugged the girls to her and kissed them both gently before standing up and going to her father.

"I had some letters," Jim said as he and his daughter hugged. "For you to look at."

"Mom?" Beckett asked in slight surprise.

"No a member of her family; a McCollough," Jim said.

Pausing as she was interested after hearing that, Beckett then said, "I'll have to read when I come back home. Just put them in the office okay?"

"Sure," Jim replied. "You know already what I want to say."

"I know Dad," Beckett replied with a smile as she leaned back. "We'll be careful."

"Thank you Katie, call us when you get there," Jim said; that having been a request from the girls they'd wanted him to ask.

"We will," Beckett replied. There was the sound of a car outside on the driveway and she went to Macca, scratching behind his ear before Castle did the same. She kissed the girls one last time with her husband and they then called goodbye to their family before they went out to the town car he'd hired to take them to the city.

"Too bad Mother couldn't change her trip," Castle commented once they were on their way, a divider between the front and back giving them some privacy.

"She didn't have much choice, since they're closing for the summer," Beckett said, the compound where Martha's spiritual retreat having changed the days of her visit due to a need to carry out some maintenance work on the buildings. "But she'll be with us for the trip."

"That's true," Castle replied. "And I guess we can stop worrying about the girls."

"They're understanding," Beckett said. She sighed and leaned her head on his shoulder saying, "We'll have to give them some attention during our trip."

"I agree with you there," Castle said, wrapping his arm around her waist tightly. They sat in silence for a while before he said, "I wish we had more information."

"We'll find out when we see her," Beckett said calmly, though she too was pretty frustrated that they had little to go on with that case. When they'd had the chance the day before they'd done all they could to find Skye's friend but had had no luck.

Castle nodded absently to that and with her watched the view they were passing before they were suddenly falling asleep; having had to wake up early that morning to prepare to leave. It wasn't until the car had stopped that he woke up as Beckett was doing so, groaning. "Shouldn't have slept," he said.

"We'll still be able to sleep on the plane," Beckett replied, checking her phone then for a text that her father had sent.

"They're asleep?" Castle asked, looking outside and seeing that the driver was trying to get to the curb in front of the British Airways terminal.

"They are, it was a little early for them," Beckett said with a smile. At that point they stopped completely and she waited for Castle to get out first before following him.

Tipping the driver, Castle took Beckett's hand and walked with her inside the terminal, a little startled to see members of the media in their way. Luckily they were able to find a way to avoid them and were soon at the counter for the airline.

Checking in their two suitcases; since Castle and Beckett had no idea what they were going to be doing in LA after the case they'd brought more clothes; they went over to the security checkpoint. They were able to get through easily since the line was relatively short and they went straight to the nearest coffee place before they got a drink.

"Mmm, flavor country," Castle said after he and Beckett had taken their first sips.

Smiling at him she said, "You were tired?" brushing his cheek with the back of her hand.

"Exhausted," Castle said, looking into her eyes then. He couldn't stop himself and he leaned over, kissing her tenderly on the lips before they parted slowly. They stared at each other before kissing again, a little longer that time before they parted and leaned back in their chairs. He glanced around them, not surprised when one woman was quickly putting her phone back into her pocket. "If she tells the media outside we'll be in the _Ledger_ again," he commented to his wife.

Beckett didn't reply to that, instead looking at her phone and saying, "Did you hear what my dad told me at all?"

"I think so, something about letters?" Castle asked, since at that point he'd been petting Macca at the girls' insistence.

"From the McCollough side of my mother's family," Beckett replied, looking a little troubled.

"What's wrong?" Castle asked, taking his wife's hand and squeezing it tightly.

"No, it's just I notice every time he goes through those boxes of my mom's things at the cabin he gets depressed," Beckett said. She sighed and then said, "I should do that for him."

"I'd go with you if you wanted some support," Castle told her quickly.

Smiling slightly at that, Beckett shook her head and told him, "That's alright; he wouldn't let me do that anyways."

"He prefers doing it himself," Castle stated. When she nodded he said, "Even though it does that to him?"

"It makes him feel closer to her," Beckett said before they paused to listen to an announcement on the PA system. "But then he remembers that he's not."

"You think he was depressed this time around?" Castle inquired, studying her closely.

"I think so," Beckett replied with a nod. "But the girls will take care of him so I'm not too concerned."

Yawning, Castle looked ahead of them at the gate and said, "You took a picture right?"

Smiling at him Beckett shook her head and stood, handing him her empty coffee cup before she went to the window and took a picture with her phone and then her camera the girls had insisted she take with her. She turned to look at her husband, leaning against him before telling him, "You just wanted to see me do that."

"Maybe," Castle said, shrugging his shoulders. When she merely smirked at him he said, "Okay so maybe I did, but you did want to take that picture."

Beckett just smiled and shook her head at him before what she was about to say was interrupted when their flight number was called and that first class was boarding. She followed Castle then over to the door with their carryon bags, one of the first people let on to the jetway. "We'll have to thank Skye for these seats," she said as she let him put the suitcases above them.

"I could have gotten the same," Castle commented with a last grunt before he pushed his bag into the compartment and closed it. When he looked at his wife he saw that she was staring at him and he quickly said, "Okay so I might not have been able to get them last minute but still…"

Smiling at him, Beckett moved to sit next to the window and leaned against him to watch him look through the Sky Mall magazine. They did that together until they heard the doors of the plane close and the engines start up. She made him look at the safety instructions with her before the flight attendants did their safety demonstration.

As they backed up, Castle looked out the window with his wife until they reached the end of the runway and then took off. He held Beckett's hand until they had leveled off and as soon as they did he squeezed it saying, "Want to sleep?"

"After breakfast," Beckett told him, reminding him of what they'd been told as the plane had been preparing to leave.

"Oh, right," Castle said, glancing up the aisle to see the flight attendants coming with a cart. He was still holding his wife's hand and he glanced at their entwined fingers saying, "Even though we talked about not going…"

"You still want to head to the beach house," Beckett finished for him with a smile. At his nod she said, "Yeah I never intended to refuse her offer but you think we could ask Alexis or my dad to bring them?"

"We'd have to see if Skye would be okay with that," Castle replied. "Or her dad."

Beckett nodded to that, unable to reply as a flight attendant was stopping at their aisle. She took her food and waited until Castle had begun to eat to join him. Studying him then she saw that he looked a little thoughtful and she smiled saying, "Do I want to ask what's on your mind?"

"Maybe," Castle replied. "Okay, so the girls get out of school on the eighth."

"Right," Beckett replied. "And you want them to come out to us?"

"And Alexis and our parents," Castle said, sounding eager. "We don't need to stay at Skye's still of course and we can go around LA until the seventeenth. That'll give us enough time to recover and pack for the twentieth."

Smiling again, Beckett picked up a piece of her bagel and put some cream cheese on it, setting a piece of salmon on that before saying, "Rick, I know you want to take them around but… it might be too much for Eliza."

Sighing, Castle said, "I would love to at least take them to Disneyland then. Especially Alexis… though I know she went already I want to go with her now."

"You know I always assumed you'd taken her to Disney World," Beckett replied.

"Yeah, I did, I was planning on it and then Mother got sick and we had to cancel," Castle replied. "Alexis didn't mind because she was worried about her gram of course."

"And after?" Beckett asked.

"Never had the chance," Castle said. He looked thoughtful again and said, "Man, you'd figure I'd make sure we had gone there."

"How old was Alexis by then?" Beckett said.

Finishing his bite of bagel and salmon, Castle said, "She was thirteen so with her starting to become more involved in school and my mom joining us for vacations more too… it didn't work out."

"Well," Beckett said, able to tell just from her husband's tone of voice and posture that he had wanted to go to the park himself. "It's not going to be Disney World but I think we can take our daughters to the original."

"The original," Castle said with a smile. "But seriously? You're not just saying we should try because you pity me right?" At the look that she gave him he grinned and leaned over, kissing her tenderly before they went back to their food. "So how long will we stay?" he finally had to ask, unable to keep from doing so then.

"Let's hold off on that and wait to see how things go as the case goes on before we plan an actual pre-vacation vacation okay?" Beckett replied.

"Right," Castle said quickly before they went back to their meal and soon finished up everything on their plate.

"Now we can sleep," Beckett said once their plates were gone.

"Good, I'm feeling the exhaustion now," Castle said with a nod as he leaned over to her. They exchanged a kiss that was a little quick before his wife moved to whisper into his ear.

" _Who was the one who wanted a long shower_?" Beckett told him.

" _I didn't hear you saying you wanted to finish_ ," Castle shot back, knowing it was unlikely anyone would understand them. He then pressed on the back of her shoulder to bring her closer to him and he kissed her a little hungrily before moving back to press his forehead against hers. He brushed his lips to hers and then let her recline her chair into a bed before he said, "Night Kate."

"Night Rick," Beckett said, smiling at him and shaking her head before he disappeared as he lay back on his bed. She turned onto her side then before closing the shutter over the window, closing her eyes to fall asleep as soon as she could.

* * *

Four hours later, Castle was looking outside at the bright, clear Los Angeles day and said, "Hopefully it isn't over one hundred while we're here."

"Skye does live in Santa Monica," Beckett reminded him as he was looking over her shoulder. "But that's the least of my worries."

"Good point," Castle said, able to tell from her tone of voice she'd used while saying that that she was turning her attention to the case. He leaned down and then kissed her shoulder through her shirt saying, "But we're not with her yet."

"We will be soon," Beckett told him as their plane stopped. It took a little longer before they could get off the plane but they were finally in the terminal and they went over to the gate that Skye had texted she would be at. But before they could reach it they heard their names being called, turning in surprise until they saw that it was the woman herself.

"Sorry, sorry, the bloody plane got booted to another gate," Skye said as she slowed down reaching them. She hugged Beckett first saying, "Thank you so much for coming. I know you're probably impatient to get started but I need us to wait until we've gone to the house."

"Yeah, a little impatient," Beckett said, glancing at her husband as the investigator shook his hand.

"Alright, Mary's waiting out at the exit so we need to get our cases first and then go," Skye told them.

"Any reason why we flew into Bradley?" Castle asked as they walked towards the luggage carousels.

"Because it's British," Skye said simply. They walked in silence for a bit before she then said, "How're your daughters?"

Able to discern the guilt in her friend's voice, Beckett said, "They're okay with us coming out here. But we were thinking of making it up to them by bringing them out here to go to Disneyland."

"Oh that would be nice," Skye said, nodding her head and smiling at them before they reached the carousels.

"Hmm, I thought as a native Californian she would have been more eager to help us out with tips when you said that," Castle said, watching her.

"Rick, she might be tired of going, she has two girls," Beckett reminded him.

Castle was going to reply to that when a blaring siren noise started before the carousel began to go around. He watched with her for the suitcases telling her, "Still, we are her friends."

"You just want a connection to Disneyland in some form," Beckett told him with a wry smile.

"Maybe," Castle said simply before he smiled and then reached down to get his suitcase that he saw first.

Once he'd gotten hers, Beckett said, "Hopefully she didn't have a problem with hers."

"No, I have them, let's go," Skye said, her voice sharp with impatience.

Castle opened his mouth to comment about that when his wife pinched his arm through his shirt. He glanced at her and at her raised eyebrow he knew that his joke wouldn't really have been appreciated by their friend; since he knew Skye and Mary had to have missed one another during the former's four month investigation.

By then the three had reached the exit and got to a circle where people waiting for passengers were held back by railings with openings for the passengers to walk through. A few seconds after that, Skye suddenly gave a cry and she took off with her suitcase dragging behind her before she flew out of the circle into her wife's arms.

Beckett smiled at the sight of their reunion, able to see some tears on Mary's face before Skye was kissing them away. As they neared the couple she could hear them murmuring in Irish to one another and she hesitated a little, not sure if she wanted to hear what they were saying. But when she caught the words missed you and love you, she relaxed.

"It's been too long Rose," Mary said then when the two let go of each other, keeping an arm wrapped around one another. "Kate, Rick," she said. "I'm so glad you're here to help her."

"You know?" Castle asked in slight surprise.

"I do," Mary said, kissing her wife's cheek gently. "We should go though Marie and Kathleen are missing you."

"So am I," Skye replied. "You're ready?"

"We've been for a while," Castle said with a nod.

At that the two women led the way outside the terminal until they crossed the first street for the curb to the terminal and then the main road around the second level of the airport to get to a parking structure. When they reached a light blue hybrid compact car, Castle and Beckett glanced at each other before Skye caught that and spoke to them wryly.

"You thought I'd drive a Jag or Rolls didn't you?" she said.

"Sort of, that's not offensive is it?" Castle asked.

"A bit but really, we're in California," Skye said, taking the keys from her wife, or trying to. "Love," she said simply, looking to her.

"You're not tired?" Mary asked. When Skye just jerked the keys from her hand she sighed and said, "I guess that's a no."

Once inside, Skye drove them out of the airport and to Sepulveda, pointing out a building to their right when they went towards the left onto Lincoln. "We go there with the girls to do our plane spotting," she told the two in the back.

"There's a plane right now… Hawaiian Airlines," Castle said, watching as the plane soon landed on the runway that was to their left.

"Yeah, we eat lunch at that _In-N-Out_ and spend the day there," Skye said.

"The day?" Beckett asked in surprise.

"Our girls love planes as much as their mother," Mary replied.

"Girls, we forgot to call Julia and Eliza," Castle and Beckett said at the same time. They turned to the front as their friends were laughing and then smiled before she spoke.

"Do you mind?" Beckett asked them.

"Go ahead, we'll be home in about… ten minutes if the traffic up ahead is moving," Skye said as she saw in the rearview mirror that Beckett was taking a phone out of her pocket.

"Mommy!" Julia cried, answering her grandfather's phone on the other end.

"Hey sweetie, your daddy is here too," Beckett said. "And we're calling to let you know we got here okay."

"Was it a nice flight?" Julia asked.

"It was, breakfast was nice," Castle commented. He shared a smile with his wife when they heard their daughters giggling at that and he then said, "What're you two going to do today?"

"Nah-uh, we're not saying until you call us tonight," Julia replied.

"They'll be having fun though," Jim then said.

"Yeah, playing!" Eliza cried out.

Laughing softly, Beckett then said, "Alright, we'll let you go then. But we will talk to you tonight."

"Okay, bye Mommy, Daddy, we love you!" Julia said.

"Love you Mommy, Daddy," Eliza was quick to say.

"Goodbye Julia, Eliza," Beckett replied. "I love you both."

"I love you both too," Castle told them. "Talk to you tonight."

"Was that Eliza?" Mary asked, glancing back at them as Beckett hung up her phone.

"Yeah, she's three now," Castle replied.

"She sounds cute, it'll be interesting to see her if she comes out here with her sister," Skye said. "And I know Marie and Kath would be happy to see them both."

"Especially since they're going to start writing to your daughter," Mary replied with a smile, since she'd e-mailed Beckett with that request from the twin girls.

Looking around at where they were then, Castle said, "I guess traffic isn't too bad."

"No, that's pretty shocking, any construction?" Skye asked her wife.

"No, everyone's at the beach already," Mary replied simply. At that point her wife turned off Lincoln before going into a residential neighborhood and she said, "Nearly there."

"How far from the beach are you?" Beckett asked.

"A three minute drive but we're fairly well secluded here," Skye answered. She smiled and said, "Hopefully Dad was able to control them," to her wife.

"We'll have to see," Mary replied.

At that moment the investigator turned into a short driveway where there was a gate and she pressed something on the visor before it opened, revealing a Tudor style home at the end of a long driveway. And as they entered it, Castle and Beckett shared a look of surprise that Skye was able to catch.

"My father built this house after his friend sold him the property. He modeled it after a home he used to pass riding his bike outside of Liverpool," she told them.

"It's amazing," Beckett replied.

"I quite like your home too, it's reminiscent of homes up north in our state," Skye said before she pulled into a garage. Sighing she then turned to her wife and said, "Home at last."

"I know, come on love," Mary replied before they got out of the car at the same time Castle and Beckett were behind them.

Walking up to the back door of the house, Castle and Beckett caught sight of what looked to be a two story building; smaller than a home but looking British in design as well. They were distracted then by two screams of, "Mummy!" before they looked to see two girls coming out onto the patio.

"Easy you two," Skye said, letting go of her suitcase to take them into her arms. "I've missed you as well," she said before she knelt down to look them face to face. "You both are looking quite grand ladies," she said before they giggled as she wiped away their tears with her thumbs. "How are you Marie?"

"Good Mummy," the little girl on the left replied. She smiled at her sister and said, "Do you have it."

"Marie," Mary sighed.

"It's alright love," Skye replied, standing up then.

"You're Julia's mother aren't you?" Kathleen asked, spotting Castle and Beckett then.

"And father," Beckett said, smiling at the girls as she pointed to her husband.

"How is she?" Marie asked, though she was watching her mother.

"Pretty well, she's eager to write to you both," Beckett said.

"Alright," Skye said then as she took her NTSB jacket and handed it to Marie. "Mind you don't get that dirty or rip it sweetling."

"I won't," Marie said. "And don't call me sweetling Mummy, please?"

"Can't help it," Skye replied before she leaned down to kiss both her daughters once her oldest had on the jacket though it was obviously far too big for her. She then stepped past them, going to an older man that had come out of the house while they were talking and hugged him tightly.

"You've closed the investigation then," the man replied.

"I did Dad," Skye said. "And I'd like to introduce you to friends of mine."

"Ah for Brent," the man said.

"Yeah, this is Richard Castle and Kate Beckett," Skye said as they walked up to them. "And this is my dad, Liam Hayden."

"Pleasure to meet you, Skye talks about you quite often," Hayden said with a nod. "I suppose you'll be wanting to get to work?"

Glancing at her wife, Skye said, "I would. Love?"

"Right, girls let's get your mother's suitcases upstairs," Mary said, nodding to them. When her father in law and daughters were inside the house she went to her wife and whispered into ear.

"Yeah but just for a few seconds, we'll still head out to the Promenade tonight for dinner," Skye answered, looking at Castle and Beckett. "With you both of course if you care to join us."

"We'd love to," Beckett answered for herself and her husband.

"Great," Mary said. "We'll see you when you get back."

Holding up her hand before either could speak, Skye led the way down a path to the small house and said, "I'm just going to let you drop your things off before taking you to my office; we'll be able to speak there."

"Your daughter wants to be an investigator too?" Castle asked.

In the process of unlocking the door, Skye hesitated for a moment before saying, "A pilot and then investigator I think. Listen, I'm going to be piloting a maiden flight of the new 747x on Thursday, there's more than enough room for you to come on board for that."

"Are you sure?" Beckett asked, putting her hand on Castle's arm as she knew he was going to answer immediately.

"It's for British Airways and they're allowing me to invite six guests, I have room for two more," Skye replied.

"You're taking your kids?" Castle said in slight surprise.

"They wouldn't let us leave them in the terminal with their grandfather," Skye replied as she opened the door. "Think on it and let me know. Anyways, this is just a little sort of cabin Mary and I had made for when we get guests for Christmas. Plus the girls use it as a play house. But you'll have a bathroom upstairs with the main bedroom and a TV here."

"No kitchen?" Castle asked, though he did see a fridge and sink.

"No, the idea was for our guests to join us for meals," Skye replied. "Hopefully you won't mind that."

"We'll get our suitcases upstairs and head up to the house with you," Beckett told her before she and Castle went to the small staircase towards the back of the living room.

Hearing the door close behind the investigator, Castle commented to his wife, "Weird seeing her in her native habitat."

"Rick she's a person, not an animal," Beckett quickly said, looking at him as they set their suitcases on top of the bed. "Now come on, you wanted to hear more about this case…"

When the two had joined her outside, Skye walked with them back up to the house, watching them look around the backyard before she started to smile saying, "It's not much since-"

"No, it's still pretty, I'm impressed by your two gardens over there," Beckett said, nodding to the rose and vegetable gardens.

"Those are Mary's favorite flower and they were my mother's," Skye said, a kind of nostalgic smile on her face at that. "And of course, the vegetable garden is just nice to have," she said before she stepped inside the house first. "There they are," she commented as two dogs, one tall with reddish brown and white fur and pointed ears and the other a Pug ran to her. "Easy Finnegan, Molly," she told them sternly as they growled at Castle and Beckett. "They're guests. Just let them smell your feet and they'll be alright."

"What kind of dog is this?" Beckett asked as the bigger dog nudged his nose against her palm after sniffing around her feet.

"An Ibizan hound," Mary replied. "Your bags are upstairs."

"And you opened them as well," Skye said, looking from Castle to her wife and seeing she was holding a bag of coffee beans.

"Of course, the girls wouldn't have let me get away with that," Mary said simply. "I'm making a cup, for Liam and I, is it too late for you?"

"Later tonight," Skye said. "Come on this way to my office."

Looking around the family room and then living room that they passed, Beckett had to say, "You know, I'm not too surprised with how you have the rooms decorated."

"When you've traveled as much as I you pick up a lot," Skye said, knowing she was referring to the different items obviously not from the US. "Okay, this is my office and Mary's too in fact."

"You share it with her?" Castle asked, surprised at the coincidence. When the investigator just looked at them as she opened the door he glanced at Beckett who shrugged before following her in. "Oh, that answers my question," he said when he stepped inside and saw that the office was large. "You're sure this is for both of you?"

"My collection spilled over onto her side obviously," Skye replied with a smile, watching with Beckett as Castle rushed to the nearest bookcase with model planes in front of the books; different model planes all over the room.

"Spilled over, more like took over," Castle said absently as he was looking at a Vietnam Airlines plane that was nearly nose to nose with an Air India plane. "This is… amazing… Do your daughters have planes? What about your bedroom?"

"It's alright," Skye said quickly, laughter in her tone as Beckett started to open her mouth to apologize she knew. "Yes to your first question, no to your second. Mary knows they'd be all over our room if she let me do that."

"So a compromise here," Castle stated as he and Beckett watched Skye sit behind her desk.

"It is, okay, I should tell you why you're here exactly," the investigator told them. "I want you to watch this."

Standing behind her, Castle and Beckett looked on as she played security footage from an airport, the screen centered on a runway until a small plane landed but never stopped. It veered off to the right and clipped a building before tilting and coming to a stop. As soon as it had they looked to her, waiting for her to speak.

"My friend Brent Figueroa was flying that plane," Skye said. "At first it was thought he had a heart attack but then the ME did an autopsy and found this…"

Taking the paper that Skye took out of her jacket pocket on the inside, Beckett unfolded it and said softly, " _Mass amounts of arsenic found in bloodstream, consumed during flight from Dulles to Santa Monica in a bottle of tomato juice_."

"That would hide the taste," Skye replied. "Especially if they knew Brent shook his bottle each and every time he drank, he got the biggest dose on the bottom, near LA."

"So it's someone he knew," Castle said.

"Someone who stalked him," Skye suggested. "That's a definite possibility."

"Who was he?" Beckett then asked.

"He was fifty-nine and he's married but he and Leah never had kids and they have no other family," Skye replied. "When I started as an NTSB investigator, he and Doug Feith were essentially my mentors, they both became my friends."

"I'm so sorry," Beckett said, seeing Castle nodding in agreement next to her.

"Thank you but I need to find out, for Leah's sake," Skye replied with a nod.

"She told you about the case," Castle replied.

"She did first but… there's one other element to this case that I…" Skye started to say. She paused and then looking at the closed door said, "They're at my office, so we'll head out there first before I explain the rest." She was relieved when the two didn't question her and she was quick to get up, leading them out to the kitchen where her wife, dad and daughters were.

"Going out?" Mary asked.

"Yeah we'll meet you on the Promenade, have fun at the beach," Skye said, kissing her girls gently before squeezing her father's shoulder.

" _Are you okay_?" Mary asked her wife in a whisper in Irish as they walked to the sliding door to the patio.

"Fine just stay safe out there, don't go into any riptides," Skye tried to joke, smiling at her.

Beckett glanced back at the two women briefly before she turned around as they were kissing goodbye. She squeezed her husband's arm and murmured, "It's something with her," as quietly as possible.

"More than likely," Castle said with a nod before they stepped outside since Skye was walking up to them. He and Beckett were quiet until they were in the car and they kept sharing a glance, not realizing their friend had noticed until she suddenly spoke.

"What's going on?" Skye asked, looking over at Beckett. When she saw the look the woman was giving her in response she said, "I can see you both, what is it?"

"It can wait until we get to your office," Beckett said simply.

"Fair enough," Skye replied. When they reached LAX, she drove them underneath the two southern runways before saying, "Our offices are right here," once they were out from the tunnel.

"Oh so you must have a nice view," Castle commented as he saw the office building with NTSB West on one side and Boeing on the other. "Wait, you share with Boeing?"

"There's an atrium that takes up the eleventh floor," Skye answered. "And in that we're divided as you need a special key card to get to the NTSB offices. The same with Boeing, you'll see when we get inside." She drove them under the building where there was a parking garage and led the way up into the lobby. There was a desk and two sets of three elevators flanking them, the names of the offices at the top of each side.

"Welcome back Skye, filing your report?" the secretary asked.

"That and showing some relatives my office, they're in town for a bit," Skye replied, waving as she led Castle and Beckett over to the NTSB side. When they were in one of the elevators; alone; she told the two, "Had to claim you as relatives, they're not too happy with friends parading through here."

"So, sisters?" Castle asked, looking between his wife and Skye.

"Cousins," Beckett and Skye said at the same time then before they looked at each other in surprise. "It's close."

"It's enough," Skye replied simply. The elevator stopped at the twelfth floor and she said, "There's an express to the top three floors and you get to see the atrium here."

"Hey Skye," a woman; a secretary sitting in front of the NTSB seal said. "Welcome back."

"Glad to be back Trish, don't know if Bianca told you-" Skye started to say.

"She said, hope you'll enjoy the view from her office," the secretary interrupted before directing the last to Castle and Beckett.

After nodding to her, Beckett said, "You won't get in trouble when they find out we're not related right."

"No, because everyone here knew Brent," Skye said a little grimly. "They'll just turn the other way." She then led them to the elevator she'd mentioned and they headed up to the top floor where she took them directly to her office.

As soon as he saw the window that was in the room, Castle's eyes widened before he walked inside past Skye and then her desk before standing at the view.

"So she was right," Beckett commented, smiling at the investigator.

"You would expect this more for the chairman's office," Castle said, turning back around to them when he saw no one was landing or taking off at the southern runways that the window looked down on.

"He's next door," Skye replied. "But there's one thing I need to show you before I file my report from my investigation."

Tearing his gaze towards her, Castle watched with Beckett as she opened a safe built behind a false back of one of the bookcases. "Letters?" he asked.

"Concerning the murder," Beckett said.

"I didn't think they were but here," Skye said. "You can read them."

Together Castle and Beckett did that, seeing that they were short notes threatening Mary McDouglas' life.

"Nice, _I'll slit your throat and toss you onto the beach for everyone to find your worthless body_. But what does this have to do with… Oh now I see," Castle read from the second to last note when his wife took out a picture that was behind the letters.

"That's the number of the Piper isn't it?" Beckett said, looking up at the investigator who was watching them.

"Yes and you should know that plane used to be mine," Skye told them. When they looked at her at the same time she smiled briefly saying, "I gave it to him after Mary and I got married and she begged me to stop flying the smaller planes."

"Was there someone who wanted the plane?" Castle asked, looking as his wife put away the picture of Mary with the tail number of the plane scrawled over her face in marker.

"No, it was an older plane," Skye answered. "And you saw the notes, it's Mary they want. I'm thinking Brent-"

"Discovered who it was-" Beckett continued quickly.

"And they killed him to silence him," Castle finished. "Hmm, three way, bizarre. Do you have any idea who'd want to hurt your wife?" he then quickly asked as the two women were nearly glaring at him.

"Not particularly," Skye said after hesitating a moment.

"You haven't told her have you?" Castle and Beckett suddenly said at the exact same time as they looked at the woman together.

Skye sighed and then sat down at her desk saying, "I can't worry her, she was nearly attacked by a former patient a year before we met. She has nightmares about it still."

"But if it's another former patient then you need to tell her so she can tell us," Castle replied.

"No, there's no need to, we can easily get a list… I mean the LAPD can," Skye started to say before correcting herself. "But if it ends up being a current patient…"

"She never tells you about them?" Beckett asked.

"She does," Skye said, shaking off her thoughtful expression then. "Sorry, I was trying to recall if she'd mentioned anyone more recently but no."

"Okay, then we'll have to talk to Brent's wife," Beckett said. "And see if he… you've talked to her."

"I did," Skye replied, nodding her head once. "And she said he told her he was a little concerned about a past investigation he had done but she knew he was lying about that. Just a cover for what was really going on, which she thinks was happening in DC."

"Then shouldn't you have taken us there?" Castle suggested.

"No, because he was only there for a day," Skye replied. "And tomorrow my connection, Detective Burke is going to be coming back. He'll be able to help… to a degree."

"Secretly," Beckett stated. When Skye nodded she then asked, "He's not going to risk being fired is he?"

"No, he's done this before," the woman replied, shaking her head. "Once."

"For you?" Castle said.

"It doesn't matter," Skye replied. "But he'll come back tomorrow morning and go straight into his station to get whatever information he can."

"By the way, how'd you get the ME's report?" Castle then asked, holding up the paper.

"That would be my connection at North Mission Road," Skye replied simply.

"Skye," Beckett said, getting her attention after she had locked away the letters in her desk. "Skye," she said a little louder to get her attention.

The investigator looked over at her and was about to speak when she paused and sighed saying, "Alright, I'll tell her but let me do so on my own time."

"So with this we can't really get too much," Castle stated.

"No, I have one last thing," Skye said, turning to her computer again. She typed quickly on the keyboard before she then said, "Brent sent this to me before he was going to leave DC yesterday."

Sitting down at the chair the investigator had vacated, Beckett saw it was an e-mail and she read it as Castle did so at the same time over her shoulder. " _I need to talk to you back home, not sure the threat is real that you mentioned. Letters might be faked_ ," she partially read out loud. Looking up at her friend she said, "Not real?"

"No," Skye said. "His tone is not quick, incomplete sentences. Even if he was in a hurry he wouldn't have written for that, he would have called me."

"Then that means someone got onto his phone…" Castle started to say. "Do you know people at Dulles?"

"I do and I've contacted two of the people I know who would have seen Brent that morning the day before," Skye replied. When the two looked at her in slight confusion she said, "You realize he stopped at other airports right? To refuel."

"Why would he do that, it sounds like it would take a lot of time," Beckett said, not to ask but to make sure the investigator would tell them. "Why not just fly commercial."

"He preferred flying private planes," Skye replied.

"Another question," Castle said then. "Did he keep bottles of the tomato juice in his planes?" When Skye nodded he then said, "You need to track him from Dulles to here."

"I'm aware, I've been able to make calls since I learned about his murder but they've had to wait until they sent the police the footage," Skye replied. "So at least they had the idea to track him as well."

"Have you been able to talk to them at all?" Beckett said.

"Oh sure but since the investigation is still ongoing, yadda, yadda, yadda," Skye said simply as she was digging through her bag she'd brought with them. She pulled out a file and said, "I'm going to nick a whiteboard before we leave, we can use that as a murder board."

"That would be helpful," Beckett replied.

"Alright I have to go next door, stay here and have fun watching the planes," Skye said. "And if you want, we can go over to that _In-N-Out_ I pointed out to you-"

"Yes," Castle interrupted her. He could feel his wife looking at him but didn't look at her and said, "I've been there before but took it to go. Always wanted to eat there."

"That's fine," Beckett said as Skye had turned to her. She watched the investigator leave then and sighed when the door closed.

"Love, lunch-" Castle started to say.

"No not that, it's fine," Beckett told him. "I just wonder if we should have come if her contact was going to be getting back."

"I think she'd still need our help," Castle pointed out to her. "Remember the question about him getting fired?" He then studied her and said, "Or do you want to go home." When his wife opened her mouth to speak he then said quickly, "No wait, I got it, you're thinking we have so little to go on it might be a waste of Skye's time."

"Partially both but mainly the latter," Beckett replied. "Since we're here though we should probably try and see what we can do with whatever we get."

"Right and we'll have a murder board, so that should make all the difference," Castle replied. When his wife just looked at him and shook her head he grinned saying, "At least I got you to smile."

Sighing, though she was still smiling, Beckett stood up and squeezed his hand before they heard the door opening. But instead of Skye they saw that it was a whiteboard. "Need some help?" she asked, going over with her husband to lean around it to see the investigator behind it.

"No, I'm good," Skye said absently as she was texting. "Sorry, Mary was letting me know they're set for lunch; girls don't want to leave the beach. Ready?"

"You don't want to bring the letters?" Castle asked, pointing back into the office.

"There's no need for them," Skye said firmly, looking a little irritated.

"Let me take this for you," Castle said, sharing a glance with his wife.

"I'm not mad at you but at whoever sent me those letters," Skye replied, getting out of the way as Castle started pushing the board towards the elevator. "What?" she asked when they suddenly stopped next to her.

"They were sent here or to your home?" Castle asked, wondering why he and Beckett hadn't asked that before; since there hadn't been any envelopes.

"They were sent here and were untraceable, I checked," Skye said. "They can't be after me; you read how specific they were with what they said they wanted to do to Mary."

"But the fact they sent it to you means they want to scare you," Castle pointed out.

"And they might want to try to get you to make a mistake," Beckett said thoughtfully. When she looked at the other two and saw they were looking at her she quickly told them, "They want to harm your wife but they want to get your attention too."

"Then you think they might want to do the same to me," Skye commented.

"Something like that," Beckett replied. "Either they want to hurt you or get to you."

"Or even both," Castle said.

Looking back and forth between them a few times, Skye sighed and then motioned for them to keep going before saying, "We'll look at this back at the house alright?"

"You mean start," Castle said. "Can't go too deep into details yet."

"Look, I am sorry I had you come out here before-" Skye started to say.

"When did you know about Detective Burke coming back?" Beckett asked.

"This morning before I left Seattle," Skye replied.

"Then you have no reason to apologize," Beckett said firmly. "So let's go, have lunch and get everything onto the board that we can once we get back to your office."

Skye nodded to that and she continued with them to the elevator where she swiped her keycard so they could get inside. She leaned against the wall as they went down, not saying anything to the other two.

Studying her, Beckett wanted to speak but she didn't think the investigator would really appreciate anything she could say so she shared a look with her husband until they came to the atrium. They watched as Skye walked ahead of them and she commented, "This is going to be an awkward lunch."

"Yeah, I was thinking the same thing," Castle commented, watching the woman too. "Well, hopefully the girls are having a good time."

Looking at her watch, Beckett couldn't help smile as she said, "Eliza's probably taking her nap."

"Unless she was able to convince your dad to let her stay up today," Castle pointed out.

"Depends on your father Kate," Skye said, not surprised when the two looked to her, startled. "Sorry, just had to talk to Trish for a second. I was wondering about my girls myself."

"You've never gone out right after getting back from a case?" Castle asked as he pushed the board into one of the three elevators that had stopped for them.

"I have, but this was one of my longer investigations," Skye replied. "I'll spend plenty of time with them on my time off."

"How long do you get?" Castle asked.

"About four months," Skye said before they stepped out of the car into the lobby.

"Any reason why the elevators here aren't connected to the parking garage?" Castle asked.

"Yeah, it's a newer edition to the building, a safety feature," Skye said.

Once they had reached their car the investigator and Castle got the board down to two pieces before they put it away in the trunk. She then drove out to Sepulveda and north to the burger place.

"Is it always this crowded?" Beckett asked in surprise as she saw the line for the drive thru was out into the street.

"It is," Castle said before Skye could. "Hopefully inside isn't yet."

"We'll see…" she said before she went in first. "Oh, we're lucky," Skye commented as she saw that there weren't too many people in line.

Hearing the sound of an engine, Beckett looked back at the windows, soon seeing a plane going by. She looked over at her husband; since Skye was ordering for them; and said, "You knew?"

"I did, that's why I was really disappointed the time I came here before," Castle said with a nod. He glanced past the cars in the drive-thru and then called to their friend, "We'll get a seat outside, you can get us whatever to drink."

Beckett was going to protest that when her husband started to pull on her hand, leading her towards the door they'd come in. Since she didn't have a chance to speak, she took her phone out of her pocket with one hand and hurriedly texted when she knew Castle would want to drink before her own choice. "Rick, you-" she started to say before a plane suddenly roared nearly overhead. She looked at it and said, "God, the girls would love seeing this," as they watched it descend to the runway to their right.

"I know we'll bring them when they come," Castle told her before he continued on to the group of tables next to the sidewalk. "Okay," he said, stepping out onto it and looking to the east.

"What are you doing?" Beckett asked in amusement, her hand on her hip as she was holding her camera she'd still had in her bag in her hand.

"Looking to see if this table is good…" Castle started to say before trailing off as another plane went by then. "Air Pacific, nice," he commented. He looked at his wife who had come to stand next to him at some point and said, "Good shot?"

"I think so," Beckett said. "And I already claimed the table love."

"I see," Castle commented, looking back and seeing her bag on top of it. He then looked back into the distance and said, "Nope, nothing there."

"So now what?" Beckett asked with a smile. She watched him leave her then without a word and said, "Are you thinking about the case?"

"Slightly, there's a lot of this that isn't making sense," Castle said.

"You don't want to wait to get everything organized," Beckett said.

"You have a point," Castle replied before he looked over to see that Skye was coming to them then. "Hey, did you need some help?" he asked, taking the carrier with drinks from her.

"Just for that brief moment," the investigator replied before she set down the tray and sat at the table. "I'll let you two know when a plane is coming in… like right now," she said as she looked over to the east. She joined the couple on the sidewalk then, and watched the plane coming in to land.

"You don't take pictures?" Beckett asked after the plane; an Alaska Airlines; had passed by.

"That's more for Mary and Kathleen… or when I don't have a camera," Skye said. When they joined her at the table she said, "I would appreciate it if you told them we didn't eat, just watched the planes."

"You mean your daughters?" Castle asked.

"They love it here but we don't eat that much," Skye replied. She then leaned back, looking over to the east and said, "Here comes another one." She watched with a smile as Castle and Beckett then went out to the sidewalk, leaving their food.

"Any reason you didn't join us?" Castle asked when they went back to the investigator.

"I'm starving, I only had a snack on the plane and not much of it," Skye replied. She then leaned back and said, "Another one's coming in."

"I'll let you take this love," Beckett said, handing her camera to her husband. When they were alone she asked Skye, "Did you have to look into this?"

"I did," Skye said simply, looking down at her burger. She said, "Brent was a big help to me, going in as I did young and a woman."

"I know what you mean," Beckett said. When the investigator looked up at her questioningly she told her briefly about Captain Montgomery and his murder as eventually Castle rejoined them. "I realize it's not the same circumstances," she ended with. "But I can understand why it's important for you to figure this out."

"You're right," Skye suddenly said after they'd eaten in silence for a few minutes. When they looked at her she said, "I need to tell Mary but… as I said, let me do so on my own time."

"That decision's up to you," Castle replied.

"I know but I can feel you both think I should," Skye said. "So I'll tell her and I'll have her help us. She's… smart besides helping us with her patient list in the past."

The rest of the meal Castle would go to the sidewalk every time there was a plane, taking a picture as Beckett stayed with Skye, talking with her. He could hear them as they were speaking, mostly about their children after they'd covered their jobs.

"Your oldest will love Liverpool," Skye was saying. "Just a warning, she may be more than a little eager."

"Were your girls?" Beckett asked her. She smiled when Skye made a face and said, "Thanks for the warning; we'll have to be careful there."

"And as for Spain… well, if you enjoy good food you'll enjoy it there," Skye replied. "Paris you'll like for the food as well; the Louvre if you go there too. There's a lot to see all over Europe."

"You've been there all during cases?" Castle asked, seeing a way to join their conversation.

"No, Spain and England were for vacation," Skye quickly said. "So that's how I know your daughter will like it as mine did."

"What about here?" Castle then said.

"You're serious about them coming out here?" Skye asked with a smile as they started to gather up their trash.

"Maybe but probably for not that long," Beckett answered before Castle could. "We'll take them to Disneyland for sure. Are there rides for three year olds?"

"It depends on your height, not your age," Skye told her simply. "But there will be rides for her."

"Back to your house?" Castle asked after he'd taken a picture of a China Airlines 747 landing.

"What you're eager to get to that sightseeing?" Skye asked him, sitting in the driver's seat of her car.

"No, just to get things set in my mind," Castle replied with a brief laugh as the investigator pulled away from the curb.

"What are you going to do-" Beckett started to say when Skye's phone made a chirping noise.

"A text, can you read that for me?" the investigator asked.

"Sure," Beckett replied. " _Found out from Darren that plane's number was altered. NAF06X_."

Knowing that Castle and Beckett were watching her, Skye said, "I think it's imperative to get home now," stepping down on the gas pedal a little harder, taking them past LAX on Lincoln towards Santa Monica.

* * *

"Were you able to find out who owned the plane?" Beckett asked, looking over from the murder board when Skye entered the office.

"Yeah, I had to call Mary," the investigator replied. "It belongs to Lorenzo Reed, and he was a former patient of hers."

"And was he… problematic?" Castle asked, sharing a look with his wife.

"No, he was suffering PTSD after a flight," Skye said absently, writing down the name on the board. "Something with the engines having to be restarted, it sounded like he'd flown through a volcanic eruption. She treated him though he never flew commercial again but the fact that he was able to fly a private plane says a lot."

"And have you been able to find him?" Beckett asked.

"I did, my friend at work Doug, he knows Reed," Skye said. "And he gave me his number but I decided to wait to call so you two could listen in."

Looking on as the she sat down at her desk, Castle and Beckett waited for the phone; on speaker; to ring before someone was picking up.

"Mr. Reed? I'm-" Skye started to say.

"I know who you are Investigator McDouglas," the man said. "I heard about Brent, what happened to him and what happened concerning my plane's number."

"I'm wondering if we could talk to you about that," Skye replied.

"Yeah, I have no idea why the hell my plane had a different number. When I lent it to him in DC last week it was fine," Reed replied.

"How much time did he have when he brought the plane back," Skye said. When there was a long pause she asked, "Mr. Reed?"

"Yeah, there would have been enough time for a temporary sticker on your old plane that was my number but that shouldn't have lasted all the way across the country," Reed said.

"Did he have a passenger?" Skye then asked, having read the question off a piece of paper that Beckett slid to her.

"Oh yeah, he did," Reed said. "A woman… Hannah Bridges."

Seeing the sudden reaction to that name on Skye's face, Castle and Beckett glanced at one another before she started to speak again.

"Did you talk to her at all?" Skye asked.

"Not really she was just there, looking around at the planes," Reed replied. "But Brent did let me know he was taking her to Sioux City, Iowa; one of his stops."

"Okay and did Brent seem different at all? Personality wise?" Skye asked, reading that off the paper.

Making a slight noise, Reed said, "I think he was tense maybe because he was pretending it wasn't his plane, not sure."

"Did he fly it out to DC?" Skye asked.

"Yeah, I flew out here since I'm moving here but then I found a Cessna I really liked, so I sold my plane to him," Reed replied. "He was flying it back to keep at least I thought he was, turns out it's still here."

"Alright thanks so much for your help Mr. Reed, gives me a better idea of what was going on with him and the plane," Skye replied. When the man on the other end had hung up she said, "Why the hell was he doing that."

"That's illegal isn't it?" Castle asked. When Skye waved her hand; indicating it was very much so; he said, "What if he was smuggling something to DC; you said nothing was found in the plane here right?"

"Right and that being his plane explains the tomato juice in there…" Skye mused.

"Think you could call your contact at the FBI?" Beckett asked.

"Or the CIA?" Castle suggested. When both women looked at him he said to his wife, "Come on, you don't think she has a connection there."

"I do," Skye said. "But that wouldn't help us here. No I would ask the FBI, there's someone I know at the field office here in LA. If you'll excuse me…"

Watching her go, Beckett frowned a little before she felt her husband come up to her and she looked up at him asking, "What?"

"You look a little troubled," Castle stated simply.

"No just thinking," Beckett replied, going quickly to the board to write out what they had been told. "It's a small plane you know."

"You could still smuggle guns or drugs, or both," Castle replied. "I wonder if they've tried to look for secret compartments."

"They tore up the plane because the FBI has been looking at Brent for a year now, they suspect him of smuggling drugs back and forth to DC," Skye said as she walked into the office again. "Just finished and he said that they thought he was taking cocaine to DC, bringing money back. But he wasn't doing that this time around; the secret compartments were empty; the FBI searched it this morning."

"He was testing the plane," Castle and Beckett said at the same time.

"That's the general consensus at the FBI, perhaps after modifying the plane," Skye replied with a nod. "But luckily they haven't taken over the case as it's not drug related."

"They're that sure?" Castle asked.

"The MO?" Beckett inquired. When Skye nodded she said, "They're still keeping an eye on it aren't they?"

"They are and my contact knows we're looking into this," Skye replied. "Luckily he said he'll shield Corey if he has to." When she got two slightly puzzled looks she told them, "Detective Corey Burke." She was about to open her mouth to speak again when she heard the sound of a door opening in the house and said, "They're back, turn that around and come join me out there, also close the door behind you," in a clipped tone of voice.

Following the woman out to the kitchen once the office door was closed behind them, Beckett said, "They won't go in?"

"Mary will, obviously, but the girls won't, they know if we're not in there they shouldn't be either," Skye replied.

"Doesn't that tempt them?" Castle asked. When the investigator looked at him over her shoulder he shrugged and watched as she took her daughters into her arms.

"I'm guessing you had a great day," Skye said with a smile. "And Dad?"

"He headed back home," Mary replied. "He didn't stay for too long at the beach."

"Of course, so do you want to take a nap you two, before we-" Skye began.

"No!" both girls cried out.

"Okay then we should get you two ready, you're taking a bath at the very least," Skye said.

"We're going to head out to change," Beckett said then, glancing at her husband.

"Yep, need to change, these clothes are all wrinkled," Castle said quickly, smiling as the twins giggled softly at that.

"Come back when you're ready to go," Mary said. "You can just walk right in; the dogs will know you now."

The twins had headed to the stairs and as she and Castle were leaving the house, Beckett heard Skye telling her wife, "Let me show you what we have so far."

"Think she'll tell her?" Castle asked his wife.

"You heard?" Beckett said, turning to him then.

"Yep, loud and clear," Castle said before he took her hand. "I don't think so though."

"Yeah, I have to agree with you there," Beckett said with a nod. "It's not going to be good though."

"You get the feeling they're like us," Castle stated. When his wife looked at him he said, "Their relationship." She was still looking at him so he continued with, "Non-professional relationship."

"In that yes but," Beckett replied, smiling then. "I think that goes for professional too."

"You made me slip up," Castle said, pretending to sound frustrated.

Laughing slightly, Beckett opened the door to the guest house and she followed her husband up to the bedroom before they opened their suitcases. She paused as she looked at her clothes and said, "Should we even really bother."

"I think so," Castle replied, taking a shirt of his out to put into the closet.

"Then just take out enough for what we might need the next few days," Beckett said.

"Of course," Castle said, watching her then.

Beckett knew he was staring at her but she didn't look at him until she had finished. When she did she was a little startled to find he'd finished himself and was close enough to gather her up in his arms. But that was a quick reaction and she was soon wrapping her arms around his neck as he crushed his lips to hers. She moaned softly as she allowed his tongue into her mouth, trembling slightly before he slowly pulled away, both of them breathing heavily. "I'm a little confused," she had to say.

"I know so am I," Castle replied. "But until tomorrow comes from here on in we can treat the rest of the day like a vacation."

Beckett nodded in agreement to that and she went to the bed where she'd left a shirt for that night. She knew her husband was with her and after she'd taken off her blouse she wasn't too surprised to find his hands on her abdomen, running back and forth. "Rick," she said. When he didn't respond, merely leaned down to press his lips against her collarbone, she smiled and then said a little more loudly, "Castle!"

"What?" he said, his head snapping up in immediate reaction to her tone.

"We're not alone," Beckett said simply. She shook her head as he pretended to look around saying, "Change so we can go. I can only imagine how hard those two girls might be to manage if we make them wait."

Castle didn't reply to that, instead went around to what was going to be his side of the bed. As he changed into a shirt he said, "Just one last time, we have everything?"

"Yes, the woman that flew with Figueroa to Iowa is our lead suspect and we need to check on the vic's financial records before we can do anything else," Beckett said. "But we have a time of death window, from about twelve the day he left Dulles to about ten minutes away from Santa Monica Airport."

"That's a wide window," Castle said. "But since he would nurse the drink… More than enough time for a slow poisoning, lending weight to a conspir-"

"The FBI didn't think it was one," Beckett reminded him.

"No but… come on love, the FBI wouldn't tell Skye," Castle protested. When his wife just gave him a look he sighed and said, "You're no fun."

"And yet I was talking about going to Disneyland with you and our daughters," Beckett pointed out.

"Okay, so we should set things aside for tomorrow?" Castle asked since he had to concede that point.

"Yes are you ready?" Beckett asked, coming out of the bathroom where she'd been putting her hair up into a ponytail.

"All set," Castle said, throwing on a jacket. He followed her downstairs and then out of the house saying, "What time are we calling them?"

Looking at her watch, Beckett said, "I'll have to ask Skye how long they plan to stay."

Inside the kitchen Mary and Skye were standing at the kitchen island, talking in hushed tones before the former kissed her wife on the lips. Castle glanced at his wife and when Beckett shook her head he wasn't surprised she agreed with him in his thought Skye hadn't told her wife about the letters yet.

"Oh hey, didn't hear you come in," Skye said, jumping up to stand straight when she saw the two.

"I'm wondering," Beckett said quickly so the two wouldn't feel embarrassed over a very simple kiss. "How long do you plan to stay?"

"You know you're taking the car we were in earlier," Skye said. "Not enough room in one car for the six of us, four of those being adults."

"We won't stay too long ourselves, the girls have to go to school," Mary said then. "But we're going to do a little shopping before dinner at the end of the Promenade and then work our way up to the restaurant. You two are okay with Greek?"

"Sure," Castle shrugged.

"That's at the northern end," Skye said. "We have stores we go to from the south and then up and then we'll eat."

"Sounds like a plan," Beckett said, having heard the woman's unspoken question there. "We're not that hungry yet."

"Alright I believe we're ready to go," Skye said as the twins came into the kitchen then. "So whichever of you is driving, follow us to the parking garage."

Castle took the keys that the investigator was holding out and then followed the family with Beckett next to him to the garage. He drove after the dark green car that the four were in, not surprised when it took barely five minutes to get to the point where they parked next to each other. "Nice house you have," he said once they were all out of the cars and leaving the building.

"My father wanted to be close to the beach," Skye said in amusement as her wife took her hand. "So we're lucky to be close to this as well."

When they turned the corner on the end of the block, Beckett was able to see the ocean straight ahead and she asked, "Where's the pier from where we are?"

"That way," Kathleen said, pointing to the southwest of them.

"Would you like to go?" Skye asked. "What?" she asked her wife when she felt her pinching her arm.

"That's alright," Beckett said. "I have been before though."

"Did you get to go on the rides?" Marie asked.

"Walk straight Marie," Mary said quickly as the little girl had started walking backwards.

"Could I ask a question," Castle said.

"You seem to be in the habit of asking a lot," Skye said. "But what's another."

"First Marie we've been to the pier before but it was only for a quick visit," Beckett answered. "So we didn't get to go on the rides."

"If we get a chance to come with the girls we should," Castle said, not surprised when his wife nodded to that.

"That would be great!" Kathleen said, her twin nodding in agreement.

"Okay so I'm wondering do you ever have any problems with your names being so close?" Castle then asked, directing that to Mary.

"Not particularly since they don't call me by my name," the woman replied with a smile. "And Skye tends to call me love, or _grá_ , so it works."

Crossing to the other side of Wilshire, Beckett saw a dinosaur shaped topiary and a street closed off to traffic leading her to comment, "So I should take it that we're here?"

"We are, it's three blocks down so I hope you've good shoes," Skye said before having to rush ahead to grab Marie before she could duck into the Barnes and Noble they were nearing. "That'll be last sweetling."

"Mummy," Marie groaned.

"Come on, walk with Kate and point out to her the stores we go to," Skye said simply. "Do you-" she started to say as she was leading her daughter over.

"No that's fine," Beckett said, smiling as the little girl looked up at her shyly. "It'll be nice to have a tour guide."

"Is that what I am?" Marie asked.

"Can I be too?" Kathleen immediately asked.

"Here," Castle said, glancing at Mary since the little girl was walking with her.

"Go on Kath, help your sister point everything out," the woman replied, letting her go.

"That's the bookstore," Marie said first as they were just reaching the end of it. "We always go there last and Mommy and Mummy make sure there's lots of time to look."

"Do you always get a book?" Castle asked.

"Not always," Kathleen said quickly. "But most of the time."

"A lot," Marie added.

"Good to hear," Castle replied.

"We don't get your books though," Marie then said.

"Oh! That's where we eat," Kathleen exclaimed, pointing to a tiny restaurant with an outside seating area.

"We'll be sitting outside, I made a reservation," Skye commented.

"We eat there too," Marie said at another restaurant. "Not this time though."

"I see," Beckett said, seeing it had large Mexican _lotería_ cards on the walls.

"Eliza would love looking at those," Castle commented, looking at the pictures.

"Does she like art?" Marie asked him.

"She does," Beckett said for him. "So he's right, she would like those." They crossed the street then and she looked at the two theaters across from each other before the little girl holding her hand spoke.

"Mommy and Mummy go there too," Marie said, at a store with a red awning.

"They have various items from India," Mary said. "We've gotten a lot of stuff from there. You two are interested in that aren't you?"

"We are, haven't really gotten much lately from there," Castle replied before they came to the end of that block.

"We stop there for dessert sometimes," Kathleen then said as they came to a building in the middle of the street on the other side of Santa Monica Boulevard.

"Today we might go to the cupcake place on the way back Kath," Skye told her.

"Oh, that's nice too," the little girl said with a nod.

"Alright, here we are," Mary then said. "We're getting them stationary sets to use to write to your oldest," she told Castle and Beckett as her wife led the girls inside.

"Think we should-" Castle started to say to his wife when she nodded before he could finish. He smiled and then took her hand as they went inside after the family.

Watching the four Beckett glanced at Castle next to her and said, "One set."

"You sure?" Castle asked. He moved his gaze from the greeting cards and then saw the expression that his wife had on her face. "Okay, one," he stated before they went over to the table where the twins were picking up boxes.

Looking over the sets, Beckett picked up one before she saw her husband getting another. "She'll prefer this one," she commented as he started to hold out his box to her.

Glancing at it, Castle saw that it had old fashion pictures with clothing patterns on them, flowers over different parts. He opened his mouth to ask why she would like that one when Beckett turned it over and he saw that there was an explanation of the meaning that each flower in each picture had. "But she might like this one too," he told her, showing her his set which had pictures of aquatic animals.

"Rick, what did I say," Beckett stated simply.

"Oh come on love this is momentous, her first pen pals," Castle began. "She should… no?"

"A little too bombastic to tell you the truth love," Beckett said with a smile so he wouldn't think she was insulting him.

"Alright then we should probably stick with yours," Castle replied, setting his set back. He was a little taken aback when she went around the rest of the table but guessed she was making sure there wasn't a better set.

"Have you found anything?" Skye asked when the two had reached her where she was standing, putting down her set of Japanese paintings stationery.

"Just this, your daughters?" Beckett said before her husband took the box out of her hand. She looked down at the boxes and started to speak before Marie rushed over her mother. She smiled as the girl was holding up a pen to her and she turned to go to a table near them before she paused when her phone shook in her pocket. She took it out quickly and when she saw who'd sent it she discovered her intuition had been correct.

"A text?" Castle asked, going over to his wife as soon as he'd finished paying.

"A picture," Beckett replied, handing him her phone.

Castle glanced down at it and smiled, seeing it was of his father in law at a restaurant with Julia and Eliza. "So it looks like they're having a good time," he commented as their daughters were smiling widely.

"They're at the French restaurant," Beckett said.

"It is," Castle said after he'd looked at the background and soon recognized it. "You should take a picture of the fountain," he said, nodding outside.

Following his gaze, Beckett smiled and took her husband's hand before pulling him to the fountain. "I'll let you handle this," she said since he was holding her phone.

"Right," Castle said. He took the picture as Skye and her family were coming out and he let Beckett lead him by the hand as they followed the four north.

"Did you two want to go to the mall?" Mary asked.

"That's alright," Beckett answered since her husband was sending the picture. "We'll follow." When she turned and saw him looking down she asked, "Did it send?"

"Here," Castle replied, handing it over to her.

Before she could read the text that had been sent from her father's phone, Beckett felt her husband take her arm to lead her instead. She smiled at him and then finally read the message, " _Cute fountain is that where you will have dinner?_ "

Castle looked at her and at the same time tried to navigate their way through the crowds of people as he heard his wife text back her message; saying it aloud.

" _It is we will tell you how it goes later tonight when we call you_ ," Beckett said. "They'll be… yeah, asking when we'll call," she said before she was texted back, smiling at her husband. She looked up when they paused and was surprised to see it was a toy store. "You're not going in?" she asked Skye before she felt her husband kiss her cheek.

"I'll be back," Castle said in a rush before he disappeared.

"Luckily the store isn't too big," Skye replied with a smile. "And no, they do have model airplanes but they have the same kind every time."

"Do they get something every time?" Beckett asked.

"No, do your daughters?" Skye inquired. "When they go into toy stores?"

"As long as I make sure Rick knows when they don't need anything, then no," Beckett said. Looking at the doorway, she was surprised to see that her husband was coming out with Marie holding his hand. "Nothing?" she asked.

"It's a nice toy store but we were just looking," Castle said.

Nodding, Beckett watched him walk with Mary and Kathleen toward the street and she stopped Skye before she could start walking after them. "Listen, you said you have a CIA connection," she began. When the woman nodded she said, "I'm wondering if you could ask this connection to do a favor for a friend of yours."

"Depends, is it illegal?" Skye asked, slightly surprised at the request.

"No I'm wondering if you can ask them if anyone in the CIA has ever heard of someone… off the official payroll who might have mentioned having a son," Beckett said.

"Castle's father?" Skye said, relieved they were standing in a kind of alcove of a store front as it gave them some privacy. When Beckett nodded she took in a breath and then said, "He's never tried to find him before?"

Beckett hoped that her husband wouldn't be angry with her for sharing; apologizing quickly to him in her mind; and started relating to Skye what Castle had told her five years before. "So there was never any definitive proof that he's deceased but Rick… gave up on him at that point," she finished with.

"And you don't think he is," Skye replied. When Beckett shook her head she said, "You're lucky I have a connection out here." She then got her phone, dialing a number before she started speaking in another language.

Looking on as Skye said, " _Efkaristo_ ," Beckett then told her, "Thank you."

"He'll ask the older men still around but it might take some time," Skye said, a little surprised when she squeezed her hand in her thanks as well. "And I don't know if he might find something either," she warned her before her hand was let go and they started to walk after their families.

"It doesn't matter," Beckett replied. "I want Rick to know, I want our daughters to know, I want to know." She was about to speak again when there were two high pitched feminine screams and the screech of tires ahead of them. Sharing a look with Skye she broke out in a run with the woman, breaking through the edge of the crowd already gathering at the curb of Santa Monica Boulevard.


	4. Way You Made My Senses Reel

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The title of this chapter is a lyric from the song When the Night by Paul and Linda McCartney, from the Paul McCartney and Wings album Red Rose Speedway.

Nearly shoving people aside, Skye all but cried out her wife's name when she saw Castle helping her stand up. "What happened?" she asked him, checking to see if Mary was hurt.

"Someone was going through the red light, they nearly ran me over before I threw myself out of the way," she replied simply. "I'm fine," she then said to her wife.

"Did anyone see the car?" Beckett asked the crowd around them.

"It was black," a woman said.

"No license plate?" Skye then asked. When everyone shook their heads no she was going to speak when she saw a police officer crossing the street. "Officer, were you here when-"

"We were ma'am, my partner left in his cruiser to try and stop the car," the officer replied. "No one saw anything of the vehicle."

"It's alright you two," Mary said to the twins who were crying against her sides. "I'm fine, luckily I kept Kathleen from getting hit," she said to her wife while the officer was taking some statements from the people around them.

Skye didn't say anything, only nodded as she waited for Mary to give her statement as well before the other officer returned after at least fifteen minutes, having been unable to find the car in the area.

"I put out an APB but…" the man said slowly.

"We'll call you if we're able to find them," the other officer told them. "Are you sure you're uninjured ma'am?"

"I'm good, is it alright if we continue?" Mary asked, not missing the expression on her wife's face, quickly shaking her head at her.

"That's fine, we have your information and statements," the officer said before nodding.

Grabbing her wife's arm as the girls were walking with Castle and Beckett, Skye pulled Mary ahead of them, talking to her quickly in Irish and glancing back behind her a few times.

Since they were so far away, Castle couldn't make out what the two were saying before he heard a soft whimper from one of the twins. "Hey, it's alright, your mom is doing fine," he said, not surprised that it was Kathleen since she'd nearly been struck as well. "She wouldn't be driving your mom crazy if she wasn't."

Smiling tearfully, Kathleen let go of his hand and then rushed up to her mothers. "Mommy, Mummy, don't fight, please don't," she begged them, not surprised when her sister came over to join them.

"No it's alright, your mum is just wondering if I shouldn't go home and rest," Mary told them, glancing back at Castle and Beckett and giving them an apologetic look.

"If-" Skye started to say.

"Mommy's okay, right?" Marie asked.

"She is," Skye began hesitantly.

"Then if she doesn't want to go, she shouldn't," Kathleen said.

Looking at the three, Skye sighed and said, "Alright, then let's keep going but we're not going to stay too much longer."

"What about this?" Marie said when they reached the Indian store.

"We're going in," Mary said, taking her wife's hand and pulling her over to the doorway.

"Awkward," Castle said as they followed the family.

"I know but you may be right about them being like us," Beckett said. She wasn't surprised when her husband nodded in agreement and then walked inside the store first. Looking around she saw the merchandise and said, "Do we need anything?"

"No but if we want something…" Castle said, taking her hand.

"Why don't you go ahead," Beckett said, glancing to their right.

Following her gaze, Castle nodded and said, "Yeah, I'll do that. I'll let you know if I find anything."

Going to where Skye was looking at some books in a glass display case, Beckett said, "Are you thinking of those letters?"

"Yeah," the woman said, laughing sarcastically. "I have to tell her now; I don't see how I can let her go to work tomorrow without knowing what's going on."

"After you get home?" Beckett asked her. At the woman's nod she then said, "You better spend some time with her now."

"When she's not mad at me," Skye said, her tone sarcastic that time.

Going after her, Beckett watched the woman go over to her family that was in the very back of the store, looking at some fabrics. She went to her husband, looking on while Castle was flipping through pictures of Hindu gods and goddesses.

"Hey," he said, turning to her when he felt her next to him. He glanced over at Skye and opened his mouth to speak before he then said, "She's going to tell her?"

"Not yet," Beckett said simply.

"Great, I just hope they don't have too bad of an argument," Castle commented as he watched the two women talking to each other before Skye squeezed her wife's hand tightly.

"So do I," Beckett said. She then felt Castle touching her elbow and she turned, seeing the picture he'd stopped at. "For what?" she asked, knowing it was of Shiva and Parvati.

"I'm not sure," Castle said, thinking for a moment before he answered.

"We have a picture already," Beckett then said, putting the picture down for him. "But these are nice," she commented.

"Okay, then there's something else I want to get," Castle said, taking her hand and then pulling her back towards the front of the store. When they were at the register he nodded to the wall behind it and said, "There's space outside by the pool."

Smiling at that, as it was the _Om_ symbol carved in dark wood, Beckett said, "Alright but we're deciding where that goes together."

Castle opened his mouth to say something to that but then looked at his wife and said, "Yeah, good idea."

" _You realize I have a lot of power over you don't you_?" Beckett asked with a slight smirk at how fast he'd acquiesced to her without her saying a word.

" _You have for a while_ ," Castle said quickly.

" _That doesn't bother you_?" Beckett said as she smirked a little at him. When he just looked at her, smiled and then walked up to the counter where an employee had been standing she bit her lower lip as she knew he'd been proving a point that they both had that power over each other.

"We're heading up to the end to eat," Skye said, coming up to Beckett then as her wife and daughters were going to pay.

"That's fine," she said, looking at her watch.

"It's not too late is it?" Skye said as she watched her.

"No," Beckett said. She looked at her friend and said, "You're nervous."

" _She's going to be angry_ ," Skye said in Russian in a low tone. " _I should have told her as soon as we got the letters but_ …"

" _You thought they were just someone playing a joke on you_ ," Beckett replied in the same language as she led the woman over to the store's supply of incense. " _And you wanted to protect her_." When Skye looked at her she smiled, starting to pick out some boxes of incense, and she said, "Rick _has done the same for me, or tried to_."

" _That hasn't strained your relationship_?" Skye asked. When Beckett paused in pulling a box of incense towards her she sighed and said, "Lovely homecoming I'm giving her."

"Love, are you ready?" Mary asked then, coming to them. When she saw her wife was looking at her with slightly wide eyes she asked, "What?"

"Nothing love, let's keep going," Skye immediately replied with, reaching out to take her wife's hand.

"Hey you're lucky I caught sight of you, was almost going to pay," Castle said. He followed her gaze to the two women and said, "Bad?"

"No, let's go," Beckett said.

After paying, Castle took his wife's hand at the entrance and said, "It was that private?"

Beckett shook her head and leaned in towards her husband, telling him quickly what she and Skye had discussed.

"Ah, that would explain her unease now, it brings the letters home," Castle replied. "Well the threats in them. But it was an older man in the car they said."

"That got away," Beckett replied, looking at him.

"Yeah that does sound strange but if no one was able to make out the model of the car, then it would make sense," Castle said. They heard Skye laughing then ahead of them and said, "We can't really do much now, it depends on those two what'll happen next."

Squeezing his hand in response to that, Beckett then wrapped her hand around the upper part of his arm as they continued to the last block of the Promenade. She studied Skye and Mary as they were waiting for three tables to be pushed together for them in the patio area at the restaurant and saw the former's hand was squeezing her wife's tightly.

Glancing back over her shoulder, Skye smiled slightly at Castle and Beckett before following her family to sit around the table. She sat to Beckett's left, across from her wife as Mary and the girls were on the other side. When they'd given their drink and food orders she said, "So what do you think?"

"Of this?" Beckett asked, since the question had been directed to her. At Skye's nod she replied, "It's really pretty here and the stores are nice; your mother and Alexis might like them."

"Speaking of Alexis," Castle began. "Skye, my daughter-"

"Is going to Oxford this coming school year, Kate told me," Skye replied with a nod to her. "I offered my congratulations."

"Mummy went there," Kathleen piped up.

"For the last two years; like your daughter will be doing," Skye replied.

Nodding as he remembered seeing that in her information, Castle said, "Would you talk-"

"I've been exchanging e-mails with her already," Skye interrupted after looking to Beckett first. At Castle's slight surprise she said, "Alexis asked me not to mention it to you as she didn't want to remind you."

"Oh, well you've given her tips… things like that?" Castle asked.

"It's been some time since I was there but I've been telling her what I could," Skye replied. "And I've also offered her the use of my home in Ireland if she'd like to go for a longer weekend."

"That would be great," Castle said, thinking already of visiting her those weekends. He felt Beckett's hand take his then and he looked at her saying, "You wouldn't want to?" as he knew she'd guessed what he had in mind already.

"You might have to go on your own," Beckett pointed out.

Castle was about to protest that when he realized she was right, their daughters might not have the same breaks as Alexis. He sighed and said, "You think they'd be okay with me doing that once?"

"They would," Beckett replied. She then looked across the table at the twins and said, "Your mother was telling me a little about Liverpool and going there, do you have any tips too?"

Castle jumped slightly when the two girls immediately started to talk at the same time, and he laughed as Mary and Skye tried to get their daughters to stop. "Should we have expected that?" he asked the two women.

"I think so," Skye replied, a smile on her face. "One at a time, Marie since you were just a little bit faster go ahead and say what you wanted to say." Before her daughter could speak she quickly told her, "Slowly please, they want to be able to understand what you say."

Nodding, Mari said, "You should go to see Paul's house. And the museum."

"The best thing is the hotel," Kathleen then said after waiting to make sure her sister had finished speaking. "They have a room with pictures of the Beatles."

"We'll have to stay there," Castle said. "How's the museum?"

"Fun!" the twins said at the same time.

"They're right," Mary said as Castle and Beckett looked at her and her wife. "They have a few things for kids and your daughters will enjoy the gift shop."

"Have you gone to _Love_?" Marie asked then.

Gasping, Kathleen said, "Yeah, that's a good place to go!"

"The show in Vegas?" Beckett said. When the twins nodded she said, "Well, we'd like to be able to take Eliza too and you need to be five at least right?"

"Yeah, we took them for the first time during the winter," Skye said. "But they did enjoy it."

"We could go now," Castle said then to his wife. "So Julia can see it and then go back when Eliza's old enough. I don't think Julia would mind seeing it twice."

"Probably not. But what did you do with them in Vegas?" Beckett asked Skye.

"There are things to see besides casinos," Skye replied. "We took them to see the wild cats at the Mirage, sharks at…"

"I think it was Mandalay," Mary said in response to her wife's glance. "And we went to a number of other places; Hoover Dam was a nice trip."

"I haven't been to Vegas in a while," Castle told his wife since she was looking at him. "And the last time I was…" he began to say before trailing off as he recalled it'd been after he'd thought Beckett had rejected him. She was squeezing his hand so he stopped before he was about to speak again, that time to change the subject. But before he could their waitress arrived with some of their dishes and he decided it wasn't necessary to do that as Skye and Mary were helping their daughters with their dishes.

"Well I suppose there should be a toast," Skye then said, looking at her wife.

"The fact that they're here?" Mary asked.

"Something like that," Skye replied. " _Sláinte_.  
Saying the same, Castle and Beckett tapped their glasses with the others before they turned to their food.

"Can we get a book Mommy?" Marie then asked after they'd been eating in silence for a while.

"We'll see," Mary replied. "Are you two going to join us?"

"I think we can," Beckett replied while Castle was looking at his watch. When he nodded she said, "We can manage to tag along but we might leave ahead of you."

"Okay you know the way back to the home now so you don't need to follow us around the entire time you're here," Skye commented.

"Good to know," Castle replied absently.

"What does that mean?" Kathleen asked as the rest of them watched the writer.

"It's… just me needing to say something," Castle replied quickly. He glanced at Beckett when the twins giggled at that and said, "I have that affect on kids."

"On people," Beckett said jokingly.

Castle nodded to her and then said, "How's your food? How's all of your food?"

"It's good," Beckett said, glancing at him.

"The same, is the conversation running dry?" Mary asked in amusement. "Did we run out of subjects?"

"More than likely we should just eat," Skye said, looking over at the twins who were doing so at that moment, not really paying attention to them.

When they had looked at the girls Castle, Beckett and Mary went back to their food as well though they did talk a few times until they finished. After Skye had announced the meal had been paid for by her and Mary as soon as the waitress came to her, she stood and led the girls out to the sidewalk where they walked north to the bookstore.

"We'll split up," the investigator said. "We're heading with them to the second floor to the kids' books."

"Where are the mystery and fiction books?" Castle asked as they stood in the entrance.

"Third floor," Mary replied. "We'll see you," she said as Marie was pulling on her hand.

"Okay, that's a lot of déjà vu," Castle commented as they watched the family leave. He turned to his wife and said, "So where would you like to go?"

Beckett smiled at him, taking his hand before she went to the escalator that by then Skye, Mary and their daughters were nearly at the top of. "I would like to go through upstairs as quickly as possible," she told her husband, looking back at him.

"Me too," Castle said, knowing she didn't want their daughters staying up too late to wait for them. So he followed her up to the third floor after Skye pointed the escalator out to them and let her lead the way to the fiction books first. "No mystery?" he asked teasingly.

"After," Beckett told him simply before she let go of his hand, taking down a book from the top shelf.

"I'll see you," Castle said, leaning down a little so he could say that into her ear. "Don't miss me too much." He wasn't too surprised when she shoved him in the shoulder and with a laugh he walked away around to the next aisle of bookshelves.

Walking through the books quickly, Beckett managed to catch up to her husband at the last aisle for fiction. "You found something?" she asked, seeing the books in his hands.

"Maybe," Castle replied. "Depends on you."

Smiling, as they were still reading the same books, Beckett took them and said, "You didn't get Patterson's book yet?"

"I didn't have a chance, I was sick," Castle reminded her.

"True…" Beckett said, trailing off. "You think he'll stick to retiring?"

"Who knows? Stephen didn't," Castle replied.

"When will you?" Beckett asked in amusement, looking at the other book; one that she had spoken of to him about reading during May before it had been released.

"You mean us," Castle said simply. "And not for a while."

Beckett handed the books back to him and in amusement said, "I should have half a say in that as well you know."

"Mystery?" Castle said simply with a slight grin. When she merely turned and walked over to the wall where they'd seen the books that turned into a full smile as he walked after her.

Looking over the tomes offered together, Castle and Beckett were soon heading down to the second floor with the books he'd originally found. At the kids' section they said goodbye to the McDouglases before going to the first floor to pay and leave. Their hands clasped together tightly as they walked down the north side of Wilshire, not bothering to look at the stores they passed on their way around the corner to 4th street to reach the parking garage.

"They're going to be hyper from today," Castle said as they reached Skye's car.

"And from dinner," Beckett replied, squeezing his hand gently before she let go to go around to the passenger seat.

"I'm eager to hear how that went for them," Castle commented.

Beckett squeezed his shoulder as she knew that he was thinking of their nights they would have with their daughters before putting them to bed; missing that as much as he was. As he left the building she looked out the window, wondering at that moment how their daughters had spent their night with their grandfather.

* * *

"Did I buckle them too tight?" Jim was asking his youngest granddaughter in the entry.

"No, I can go," Eliza said.

"Let me check Grandpapa," Julia said quickly before she put her fingers under the buckle of her shoe. "That's good," she told him. She waited for him to finish and then said with a smile, "Are we gonna keep going out for dinners while you're here?"

"I can cook," Jim replied with a returning smile as he helped Eliza into a sweater. He leaned down and kissed her forehead before taking her hand and letting Julia lead the way to the garage. "I'm just taking you two out tonight to celebrate."

Smiling again, Julia said, "I'm glad you want to come out here."

"Of course I do," Jim assured them. He then helped Eliza into her car seat and while he was doing that, studied her closely to see if she seemed a little sad. He had been worried; when his daughter and son in law had told him about their need for him to watch the girls; that the two would be concerned and miss their parents. But he was startled when through the day Julia had seemed to go out of her way to make sure her sister wasn't thinking about their parents being gone. "Are you… okay," he said, checking on the oldest then.

"I wish I could go in the front with you," Julia said once Jim was heading to the street.

"Not yet," he replied, glancing quickly at the two in the rearview mirror. Since the restaurant was in downtown he didn't have far to go before he was parking there and helping the toddler out of her seat. He smiled when she kissed his cheek and he took Julia's hand that she placed on his before they went over to the entrance.

Watching as her grandfather carried Eliza to their table, Julia waited for him to place her in her high chair before she sat in the chair to his right. She smiled at her sister while she leaned past Jim to look at her and waved a little before sitting back.

Since he'd been to restaurants with his granddaughters before, Jim was able to help Eliza read the menu to decide what she wanted before he made sure that Julia was set. When they had their drinks he was helping the toddler take a sip from her cup before Julia was speaking.

"Grandpapa, what are you gonna do tomorrow while Eliza's still at school?" the little girl asked.

"I thought I might make sure I have everything ready for the trip," Jim said. "You know I'll stay until we leave for Spain."

"Yeah, I know," Julia said, nodding her head. She then said; after her grandfather had taken Eliza's drink out of her hand; "Mommy and Daddy will be surprised won't they?"

"I think they will," Jim replied with a smile. "But you can wait can't you?"

"I have to, Mommy would be so mad if I didn't go to school," Julia said with a giggle.

"Me too," Eliza said, a wide smile on her face. "Why Grandpapa?"

"Both your parents want you to finish your school year," Jim explained. That was all he could say though as the waiter came over and he ordered for himself and Eliza before he watched as Julia did so on her own. "I always forget how grown up you're getting to be," he said to the little girl.

"Not that much Grandpapa," Julia said quickly. "I'm still only nine, not close to ten." She then said, "Can we take a picture to send to Mommy and Daddy?"

"Sure," Jim replied. Looking over at Eliza he saw that she was reaching for her glass and whimpering slightly. "Do you want to do that?" he asked her to distract her.

Frowning, Eliza then nodded saying, "For Mommy and Daddy?"

"Yeah but we can send it to Gram and Alexis too can't we?" Julia asked.

"We can, I have their numbers," Jim replied with a slight nod as he got Eliza out of her chair to hold her on his lap. With Julia standing next to him he got his phone ready and after he'd held the toddler's hand out of the way as she was trying to point at the camera he took the shot, smiling when Eliza squealed right after.

Watching her grandfather's phone closely while he was getting her sister back into her, Julia gasped and reached for it when the screen flashed and it vibrated. She went to the text message after opening the phone and read the message from Beckett before looking at the picture. "Look," she said, leaning over to try and show it to her sister.

"A saur!" Eliza giggled softly when she saw the face of the dinosaur behind their parents.

"It's a fountain, see the water?" Julia pointed out.

"Yeah," Eliza said. "What do you say?"

"Just if that's where they're going to have dinner," Julia said.

While Julia was doing that, Jim looked on before he ran his hand over her hair. When she smiled at him he felt a little more of the depression that had started to creep up on him ease and he leaned over saying, "When the food comes-"

"I know, Mommy and Daddy are going to call us as soon as they can so I won't text anymore," Julia replied. At that point their food was brought out and she had to hand the phone back to him so she could start. She had been looking at some of the pictures that he had on his phone and glanced at him as the first folder in his gallery had been pictures of her mother and grandmother. She had already seen some pictures before but had been able to tell that there were more he'd added.

"Are you okay Julia?" Jim asked as he looked at her closely when he noticed that she wasn't eating.

"Yeah, just thinking," the little girl replied before she started on her _croquet_.

Since he had to help Eliza then with her food, Jim had to divert his attention to the toddler but he was still concerned and kept an eye on his other granddaughter.

Since Eliza had chosen a savory _crêpe_ , Jim was busy helping her eat it and the table was relatively quiet except for when he was talking to his granddaughters to make sure they were doing alright. But they were enjoying their food and when they had finished, he allowed them to get a sweet _crêpe_ to take home with them.

"Mommy will be mad?" Eliza asked as they were going back out to the car with the dessert in his hand.

"It's funny how you talk about your mom and not your father," Jim said as he picked up Eliza to set her in her car seat.

"Daddy likes dessert," Eliza replied in a matter of fact tone.

"She won't be mad but she'll tell me not to keep getting sweet things while I'm here," Jim replied.

"'Cause you're going to spoil us?" Julia asked.

"Exactly," Jim said absently before he had finally gotten the toddler buckled up in her seat. He checked on Julia and then drove them back home.

"Did they call yet?" the little girl asked when Eliza had gone with Macca to the family room ahead of them.

"They'll text and not yet," Jim replied. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Julia said, looking up at him closely. "Are you?"

Startled at that question, Jim hesitated for a fraction of a second and then hurried to tell her, "I am. Come on; let's get ready for when they do text."

"What will we do?" Julia asked.

"First, watch your sister while I get milk for you both," Jim said as they reached the doorway. "And then we'll have dessert and do whatever you want as long-"

" _Swim_!" Eliza cried out, interrupting him.

"That means swim," Julia laughed as she said that.

"She learned that word," Jim told her. When Julia nodded in response he then said, "As long as it's not swimming Eliza." He leaned over and kissed the top of her head as the toddler slumped, pouting heavily.

"We could watch a movie, a cartoon," Julia said, going to stand next to her sister, wrapping her arms around her. "What about a video game? That way we exercise."

"So Mommy gets mad?" Eliza asked, perking up slightly at that.

"So she won't," Julia corrected.

"Oh, yes please," Eliza said before nodding rapidly.

"I'll be back you two, be careful," Jim said, smiling as he watched the two. He had to wonder; going to the kitchen; if his daughter would have been the same way with a younger sister. Shaking that thought aside he then turned his attention to get the milk for them, preparing a cup of coffee for himself after.

"I miss Mommy and Daddy," Eliza suddenly said, standing next to her sister and watching her look through their video games.

"I know but we're gonna see them remember," Julia said. When her little sister started to point to the TV she shook her head and told her, "No after they finish their case."

Eliza then nodded to that and said, "Kay, what do we play?"

"I think this one is good and then after I'll play this one," Julia said, taking the two out of the cabinet.

"What did you pick?" Jim asked, coming in with the drinks and _crêpe_ on a tray. He sat down on the other side of the couch as the girls went over to him and said, "Eliza," in a mock warning tone of voice as she pretended to go for the foam on his coffee.

Giggling, Eliza spun and then went to him, throwing her arms around his neck.

"I think she wants the first bite," Julia said, watching her.

"I thought the same thing," Jim told her, rubbing Eliza's back before he had her pull back from him. He fed her a bite of the _crêpe_ with blackberries and then waited for Julia to take some before he got a piece as the toddler was urging him to.

"I love _crêpes_ ," Julia said. "Oh, in France they have them huh?"

"They do, I've never been there," Jim said quickly as he knew what she was going to ask then. "Just to Spain but you know your dad, sister and gram went there," he said.

"And they don't care about going again?" Julia asked.

"If a place is good they'll want to go back," Jim replied.

"Ireland must be great," Julia said with a smile.

"I wanna go," Eliza said, nearly stomping her foot before her grandfather gave her another piece of _crêpe_.

"We're all going," Julia said. "And you want to go back to Spain again and see more of Ireland," she then said to their grandfather. "Ooh, I can't wait," she said, jumping up and down once.

When the dish was empty, Jim helped Julia set up the first game before he sat on the couch to watch them. He took a picture with his phone of Eliza pointing to the TV and then of Julia helping her sister chose an object. Before he could stand up and grab the other game when they'd finished his phone made a noise in his pocket and he wasn't surprised when the girls gasped at the sound before he said, "Hold on."

Eliza was holding on to Julia's hand as tightly as she could while they watched their grandfather get the TV switched to the Skype mode. When the screen suddenly showed to their parents, she squealed and cried, "Mommy! Daddy!"

"Hey you two," Beckett said, a smile on her face as she saw that they were nearly up against the TV.

"You might want to step back you two," Castle said, smiling as well.

"Sorry, she was excited and kept going close," Julia said. "How was your day or did you just work?"

"No, we went out for a little bit," Beckett said. "But first tell us what you two did after you got up."

"Grandpapa told you we slept?" Julia asked with a smile.

"Yeah and we don't blame you, you two didn't need to get up while we were still getting ready to go," Castle replied.

"I don't think they could help themselves," Jim said. "How is it over there?"

"Weather wise we're lucky we spent a large amount of time near the beach," Beckett replied.

"You went to swim?" Eliza asked, sounding jealous.

"Hold on, you two were supposed to tell us what you did," Castle said.

"Oh, well after we got up we had a snack and then we went to swim," Julia said.

When neither of the girls said anything Beckett said, "That's all you did?"

"Basically," Jim replied. "They argued that since they're going back to school during the week they should be allowed to spend as much time in the pool as they can." He wasn't surprised to see his daughter covering her mouth with her hand, trying not to laugh, and said, "They know how I work in the courtroom."

"It sounds like it," Castle said, glancing at his wife. "So what about dinner? We saw your picture."

"It was fun, the food was good," Julia said, Eliza nodding at the same time.

"And so was sweets," the toddler said happily.

"Ah, I had a feeling that was going to happen," Beckett said in amusement as she turned her attention to her father.

"It was for tonight, a celebration," Jim said though he knew his daughter didn't mind by her tone.

"Yeah, he said he wasn't going to get us desserts all the time," Julia was quick to say in defense of him

"It's okay, I'm fine with it for tonight," Beckett replied. "And what about now?"

"We played the I Spy game," Julia said.

"I found the things," Eliza said hurriedly.

"Nice," Castle said with a nod. "And what about a game for you?"

"I will," Julia said since her father had been talking to her. "Now what about you?"

"Well, tonight we went to have dinner at the Third Street Promenade," Castle said. "It's a street that cars aren't allowed to go down and there are a lot of stores."

"Did you buy?" Eliza said.

"A couple things," Beckett replied. "And after that we came here so we could talk to you two."

"Do you swim too?" Eliza asked them hopefully.

"Well, there is a pool here at the house," Castle said. "But maybe not tonight, we need to get some sleep."

"Oh," Eliza said. "Swim kay?"

"We'll swim when we can," Beckett said, smiling at her. "Okay, we called a little later, so we should let you go."

"Love you Mommy, Daddy," Eliza said then as she knew from her mother's tone that she was serious.

"Love you Eliza." "Love you sweetheart," Beckett and then Castle told her.

"I love you too Mommy, Daddy," Julia told them.

"I love you sweetie," Beckett said.

"Love you too Julia," Castle then added.

After they'd said goodnight to him and the screen had gone dark, Jim switched the TV back before he said, "Time for someone to be in bed." He smiled when Eliza slumped a little and he went to her, picking her up as Julia was quick to follow him upstairs and to the toddler's room.

"Don't want to Grandpapa," Eliza sighed.

"I know but you have school to go to tomorrow," Jim replied. He set the toddler down on her bed and started to change her into her pajamas; Julia doing the same herself in her room. When he had finished he went to get her brush and was just about to start brushing her hair when she shook her head.

"Want Mommy to," Eliza told him.

"I can brush it," Julia said, coming into the room then. "Please?"

Eliza looked at her big sister for a moment before slowly nodding and turning so she could sit behind her. She yawned widely and said, "Your hair."

"It's okay," Julia told her quickly. "I'll let Grandpapa brush it for me." When she had finished she handed the brush to Jim and then hugged Eliza once she'd turned around. "Love you Lizzy, night," she told her.

"Love you Jules, night," the toddler said. She then got under the covers after her sister had gotten off the bed and looked at her grandfather with a smile as he hugged her. "Love you too Grandpapa," she told him.

"I love you too honey," Jim replied, sharing a kiss with her. He had her lay down and tucked her in before he took Julia's hand and they went to the door. By then Eliza was asleep so he led his oldest granddaughter into her room. "Thank you for helping."

"I had to," Julia replied. "Mommy and Daddy would have wanted me to do that. I know they're going to come back."

"That's true," Jim said. "But you still have a half hour to go until your bedtime."

"Can we do something?" Julia asked then, sounding hesitant.

"That depends on what you want to do," Jim replied.

Biting her lower lip, the little girl tugged on his hand before he followed her to the bed and once he was sitting on the edge she hurried to get her brush. "I was looking at your phone," she confessed to him. "And I saw the pictures you have."

"My new ones?" Jim asked, running the brush through her chestnut colored hair. When she slowly nodded he said, "I don't mind you doing that. You want to take a look at them all?"

"Is that okay?" Julia asked. "I don't want to make you sad Grandpapa. I know you get sad… 'cause of Grandmama…"

"It's alright," Jim was quick to tell her, hugging her to him tightly. "Your mother told me you figured that out. And it won't make me sad; I think she'd want me to tell you more stories about when your mom was growing up."

Relieved to see him slightly smiling, Julia said, "Mommy wouldn't want you to say if they were embarrassing."

"Well, this will be our secret okay?" Jim asked. He smiled when the little girl giggled and nodded before getting off the bed to put her brush away. While she was brushing her teeth he got his phone out of his pocket, opening the gallery where he'd stored as many of his pictures from when his wife had been alive as he could. When Julia had joined him on the bed he sat against the headboard at her direction, letting her hold the phone as they looked down at the first picture.

"This was at Christmas," Julia said, since it was of her grandparents holding Beckett in front of a Christmas tree. "Mommy was…"

"Just a little over a month old," Jim replied, smiling. He was surprised when Julia suddenly handed him the phone and then wrapped her arms around him, pressing close. He leaned down and kissed the top of her head before saying, "Your grandmama never said if she wanted a boy or a girl but I think she had really wanted a girl."

"Did she want a sister like I did when she was little?" Julia asked, looking up at him.

"She did but she would have been happy with a boy too, we had a name picked out for him already," Jim said. "It was Edward, my father's name."

"Mommy's grandpa?" Julia asked. At her grandfather's nod she said, "That name isn't bad. I would pick Paul."

Laughing slightly under his breath, Jim said, "I expected that but she was going to use that for the middle name."

"She was?" Julia asked in surprise. When he nodded she said, "Mommy and Daddy waited to give Eliza her name."

"Some parents do that," Jim said. "But your grandmama didn't want to spend too much time worrying over a name. But she did say if the baby didn't look like an Edward or an Elizabeth we would just change the name."

Looking startled, Julia said, "You were going to name Mommy Elizabeth?"

"Almost, your grandmother had always loved the name but when your mom was born she said that she was not an Elizabeth," Jim replied.

"Does Mommy know that story?" Julia asked, wondering if her sister would have been named Katherine if her mother's name was Elizabeth.

"She does but I never told her until after your little sister was born," Jim said. "We never told her the story…"

"Should we keep looking?" Julia then asked.

"Of course," Jim replied. The next picture he smiled at and said, "That was in May the year after your mother was born, her first time in Central Park not bundled up and in her stroller."

Giggling, Julia said, "Eliza looks like she did."

"She did," Jim said. He then went to the next picture saying, "We better hurry or else we won't get to see the rest." He went through a few more pictures, his daughter growing up as they went through the years and then he stopped at one of his wife and daughter on a beach. "This was at Coney Island."

"How old is Mommy here?" Julia asked.

"The same age you are," Jim replied. "That was the first time her mother let her ride on the Cyclone without one of us next to her."

"She went alone?" Julia asked.

"No, we were in front of her," Jim said. "But I stopped here because you're very much like your mother."

"I love the beach?" Julia asked. She smiled when he nodded in response and she said, "I hope she gets to go to the beach over there."

"She will," Jim said shortly before he went to the next picture.

Before they had finished looking at the pictures, Julia made a sound of protest when her grandfather closed the gallery and then the phone. "It's time?" she said with a sigh.

"It is," Jim said. "Tomorrow night if you want to we can look at the rest. We should probably look at it with your sister."

"She would want to see," Julia replied after she slipped under the bed sheet. She hugged her grandfather tightly around his neck and after they shared a kiss said, "Night Grandpapa, love you."

"I love you too Julia," Jim replied. He tucked her in and then went over to the doorway, pausing for a moment before he made sure that he was okay. He then left to check on Eliza and after being sure his granddaughters were alright he went downstairs.

Turning onto her side, Julia looked at the posters on her wall before she sighed, suddenly impatient for that week to end before she closed her eyes. As she tried to fall asleep she thought of her parents then and smiled briefly before she started to nod off.

* * *

Turning off the TV they'd used to talk to their daughters, Castle said, "Did they come back?" as his wife was looking out the window toward the house.

"Yeah, the lights are on," Beckett replied before turning to him. "It's early, anything you want to do?"

"Well I think we should leave them to their night," Castle replied. "Should we say goodnight?" When his wife's response was to turn and leave he smiled before following her out into the cooler night air. As they were passing the gardens he got an idea but set that aside for later as he went with her to the sliding door.

"Oh, hey how're your daughters?" Mary asked when she saw Beckett coming into the house. "You did talk to them right?"

"We did and they're doing well," she replied. "We just wanted to say goodnight, we're going to stay at the house."

"If you wanted to go swimming you could of course," Skye said, glancing over at them from the stove where she was heating a kettle of water.

"We might, we'll need to see," Castle replied, glancing at his wife.

"He's right but thank you for offering," Beckett said with a smile. "So we'll be here in the morning for breakfast."

"We don't need to go in early," Skye replied, going over to them as Mary went to the stove for her. "Corey's not getting in until about ten, ten thirty," she said in a low voice. "I was thinking of getting some surfing in, been a while since I've been able to go."

"You might want to tell them why you're telling them that," Mary said, having been listening to the conversation.

"Yeah, I was because there's a restaurant on the beach," Skye replied. "Breakfast."

"Sounds like that would be nice," Castle said before the twins were suddenly running up to the investigator.

"Mummy, can we go? We don't-" Kathleen started to say.

"Girls," Mary said warningly. "You know you have school tomorrow, so no. But once summer starts on Saturday we'll try and make it out there."

"Come and get us tomorrow," Beckett said with a smile to Skye. She called goodnight to Mary before saying that to the twins and after Castle had told the family the same she let him take her hand, leading her out.

Taking her towards the guesthouse, Castle then diverted to the right and pulled her over to the rose garden. He turned to his wife and when he saw her smile said, "You expected this?"

"I thought you might wait until we were going to the pool," Beckett replied. When he glanced back at her she said, "I did expect you to want to come out here."

Nodding slightly, Castle let go of her hand before he watched her look at some of the flowers that were still in bloom. "Do you want me to get your camera?" he then said.

"That's okay, I would prefer to take pictures in the daylight," Beckett said simply. She leaned down to smell a yellow rose before she said, "Do you remember seeing that picture in the office?"

"The one of Skye and Mary's wedding?" Castle asked. At his wife's nod he said, "I do, in a rose garden."

"That was the Huntington Library," Skye said, coming up to them. "Sorry," she said then the two looked at her in slight shock. "I wanted to…"

"Soften the blow with a flower?" Castle suggested when the woman stopped talking.

"Something like that, the girls are picking out a movie and she's making some popcorn so…" Skye said again. She jumped slightly when she felt Beckett's hand on her shoulder and said, "What?"

"She might see through that," Beckett replied simply. "Why not just give them to her for the sake of giving them to her?"

Skye studied her for a moment before she sighed and said, "She might still guess there's something else going on behind it."

"Yeah, I see myself in that," Castle replied when the woman suddenly turned and left them, looking desperate. When his wife looked at him he said, "Remember our fight about our last book?"

"That's true," Beckett said quickly. "Let's just hope that their girls don't see that."

Becoming a little grim at the thought, Castle nodded and then followed his wife through the rest of the garden in the waning light. "So, swim?" he asked her when they were walking back to the guesthouse.

Smiling at him, Becket lengthened her stride and headed inside before going up to the second floor. She changed into her bikini without a word and went over to the window seat at the one that looked down at the pool while she tied her wrap around her waist. "I wonder," she said to him when he walked up to her, changed into his trunks and a shirt. "How it was for them."

"Probably fun," Castle said, putting his hand on the small of her back. "You know already that Julia's going to make sure Eliza doesn't think about us being gone. And she didn't have a problem with us going to Canada remember."

"I think it's more the fact that she knows we're working," Beckett said.

Castle had to nod to that before he said, "Plus the fact that we left so quickly." He then looked at her and said, "We'll have to show her we love her when we see her again."

Beckett smiled at that and said, "You're right." And with that she took his hand before they went back into the yard, going to the right of the guesthouse, away from the main house and towards the back of the yard where the pool was. Without looking at her husband, she quickly took her wrap off and then dived smoothly into the water at the deep end. When she resurfaced she saw that Castle had gone into the water but didn't know where until he pulled on her ankle, making her cry out in her surprise.

"Sorry, it was too tempting," Castle said when his wife splashed at him.

"There you're starting to channel your inner twelve year old," Beckett replied, treading the water.

"Swimming will do that," Castle said. When his wife rolled her eyes he laughed and joined her going over to the steps before he said, "You noticed the Jacuzzi right?"

"Not sure how I couldn't," Beckett said simply, sitting down. She wrapped her arms around his neck as he leaned over into her, putting his hands on either side of her on the edge of the pool. "Now your adult self came back," she teased him.

"Not sure why it wouldn't," Castle said intending to echo her. He kissed her then but kept it very careful and simple before slowly pulling away from her. He looked into her eyes and then told her, "I love you."

A little surprised at how serious his tone of voice had been, Beckett bit her lower lip for a moment before she reached up to cup at her husband's face. "Love," she breathed before they leaned into each other again.

Though he knew there was a chance that any one of the McDouglases could come out to them Castle deepened the kiss as soon as it had started, the touch of his wife's lips too much to resist. When they parted for a breath he then hurriedly leaned down and kissed at her neck.

Beckett could sense that her husband might easily get out of control; and herself as well for that manner; so she soon made him break off the kiss saying, "Maybe later."

"Well, that wasn't a question," Castle said before he moved to go backwards in the water as he took her hand, pulling her with him while he kept his eyes on her. "So that's a promise."

"And what makes you think it's that?" Beckett replied, wrapping her arms around him.

"I can see in your eyes love," Castle said seriously, standing in the middle of the pool, holding her to him tightly. "Your gorgeous… bewitching eyes."

Beckett wanted to comment on that but her husband's lips were suddenly crushing hers and she was distracted by her need to keep them both from going too far again. She allowed herself to respond to the kiss for as long as she could until finally she managed to break off the kiss. "You're a sappy… a sappy man," she tried to say teasingly though it came out as a pant.

"Yeah," Castle said, knowing he needed to stop while he was ahead but unable to so much as let go of her.

"Just… let go, it's alright," Beckett murmured to him, her lips against his temple. She was relieved when after a pause he was able to release his hold of her and she watched him go underneath the water before heading to the deep end. She stayed where she was catching her breath as she wasn't unaffected herself and once she felt in control again she ducked under herself swimming after him.

Looking back at his wife as she resurfaced next to him, putting her arms up on the edge as he was, Castle said, "We should be tired it's… later at home," not knowing the time exactly since he had taken off his watch.

"That's what we slept on the plane for," Beckett told him. She smiled then and said, "You wouldn't want to?"

"Just giving you a way out if you'd like," Castle replied, leaning over. When she shook her head he asked, "No?" When she looked at him he kissed her but a brief kiss before he looked around them.

"What?" Beckett asked, smiling as she watched him.

"It's a romantic spot," Castle replied.

"Are you thinking of them?" Beckett asked.

"Not in that way," Castle rushed to say before she could continue. "Just wondering why her father made it. Maybe he wanted his daughter to have the chance he didn't with his wife."

"I would ask if you were drunk with that but I think we're worrying about Skye now," Beckett said.

"Slightly," Castle said. "So, race?" he then asked as he knew they needed a change of subject.

Beckett leaned over and kissed him briefly before she pushed away from the side and started to swim back to the steps. She wasn't surprised when her husband was quick to follow her and she smiled inwardly before she managed to get her foot on the bottom step first. "You let me win," she told him as she turned to him.

"I might have," Castle said as he stood next to her. He then wrapped his arms around her and let himself fall back into the water before they went underneath at the same time.

After swimming and diving a few times from the board Beckett was the first to leave the pool, heading to the Jacuzzi without saying anything to her husband. She then sat against the opposite side from the stairs and smiled as Castle was quick to make his way out of the pool to her. They didn't say anything as they sat next to each other and she soon felt his arm wrapping around her waist.

The two remained there as evening soon turned into night, spending some time sitting on the edge of the small pool when the water became too hot for them. They spoke about a number of things, everything except whether their daughters were missing them and the case. When they decided they were ready to head back to the guesthouse they went to dry off together at the lounge chair they'd left their towels on.

Beckett was about to ask her husband something when she suddenly heard voices in the distance and turned to him, asking him without speaking.

Castle nodded, and then took her hand to whisper in her ear, "Is there another door?"

"No, it was just the one," Beckett told him.

Frowning, Castle put on his shirt and took Beckett out through the gate surrounding the pool, going around to the front door of the guesthouse. But when they did he saw that his hope that the two had moved to the other side of the yard hadn't happened, they were on the patio within earshot. He wanted to get Beckett into the house but knew they wouldn't be able to do that without alerting the two women to their presence. He was going to turn around to go back to the pool to try and wait out their conversation but a cry from the patio stopped them from moving.

"You received letters threatening my life six months ago and you didn't say a word of it to me?" Mary was saying angrily.

"Six months?" Castle whispered to his wife. He was surprised when Beckett suddenly threw her towel around her shoulders, striding out to the two women.

"Mary, I thought they were nothing but a joke," Skye replied. "But then…"

"Then what?" her wife said. "We're just having…" she started to say when she saw Beckett approaching them with Castle behind her. "They know," she then shot to Skye. At her nod she clenched her teeth and said, "What happened that's making you say but then?"

"I got a picture of you before I had to leave for my investigation and it had the tail number of my plane. I thought… someone was trying to get me away from you, they might have known about you not wanting me to fly anymore but then Brent was murdered and the plane…" Skye said.

"But it wasn't your plane," Mary was quick to say.

"It is my plane, they changed the number and I knew with that they were connected to the murder; whoever sent the picture because the number they used was from a friend's plane you knew before me," Skye said. "Because they could have used any number, why that one?"

"And when did you realize they're out to get me too?" Mary asked.

"When I was told Brent was in my plane," Skye said slowly, not looking at her wife.

"Rose, look at me," Mary said, stepping up to her. When the woman didn't she put her hand on her cheek and turned her head saying, "You didn't tell me, why?"

Knowing by her wife's tone that she was angry, Skye said, "I wanted to protect you."

"And yet I nearly get run down by a car today," Mary said. "Are you keeping anything else from me? You never used to before, why now? Have you cheated-"

"No," Skye said a little loudly, making them all freeze. "I'd never do that Mary, you know that. This is…"

Castle wanted to comment on that and tell the two about how he'd tried doing that for his wife, to help Skye, but his wife's hand grabbed his and he stopped.

"Alright, I'm going inside don't bother coming with me," Mary said simply.

Watching her wife walk into the house, Skye let out a heavy groan before she sat down in a chair that was near them and said, "I should have known."

"She's independent," Beckett said.

"Very and she doesn't like the thought of us keeping secrets from one another," Skye said, covering her face with her hand, being careful of her glasses. "I'm sorry," she then said, as if suddenly recalling the two had been there to watch.

"That's okay, we were trying to get into the house before we heard you," Beckett said. "I wanted to try and help you out, I've been in Mary's position before, a number of times."

"It wouldn't work, she'd want to get through this on her own," Skye replied.

"Are you going to be okay?" Castle asked.

"Sure, go head to the house now," Skye said, waving her hand in the air. "We won't stop you."

"I'll meet you there," Castle told Beckett when they shared a look.

"Are you going to lecture me now?" Skye said, looking up at him before looking with him to watch Beckett walk away. "Because I take it you'd rather be following her."

"Is she at all nervous about her being here?" Castle suddenly blurted out, not knowing why he felt he had to ask that.

Skye looked up at him with a bemused expression on her face before she realized what he meant and she laughed, though without much humor in it saying, "No, but I can see you'd wonder at that. Is that what you wanted to talk to me about?"

"I was going to ask you if you had any coral roses," Castle replied. "In the garden."

"A couple, why?" Skye said, studying him then.

"Because I'm about to take some from your garden," Castle said. "If that's okay," he was quick to add as she looked up at him again.

"No that's fine and you've given me an idea," Skye replied. She was about to leave him then, when she paused and turning to him said, "She told me."

"About when I did the same as you're doing for Mary?" Castle asked. When the woman nodded he said, "If she loves you she'll come to understand your motives for that. But you know your wife isn't going to hide from the world because of a threat."

"I take it you're talking about both our wives," Skye commented with a slight smile on her face.

"Definitely," Castle replied, nodding his head once.

"Thank you," Skye said. "I can see why you two couldn't stop working together. The coral roses are on the right path, towards the back."

Castle went after the woman then to the garden where he went to the path she'd told him as she was going down the other one. He found the roses and as he left the garden he saw that Skye was running onto the patio, going up to the house. He wished her the best of luck in his mind before going into the guesthouse. "Hey," he said when he saw that Beckett was standing at the brewer in the kitchen.

"Hey, I didn't know if you wanted a cup," she replied, not looking at him. "But I thought you might be thirsty after going hunting for roses, so there you are."

"You knew?" Castle asked her.

"My spidey senses," Beckett teased him as he came to her, handing her the roses. "Skye's aware of this right?"

"She got some flowers for Mary," Castle replied. "If I'm not mistaken, yellows and darker pinks."

"Hmm, apology and I think gratitude," Beckett said after thinking a moment. "She'll forgive her though." She saw Castle's questioning glance and said, "When she has a chance to cool down and realize why Skye kept it a secret for so long."

"So half a year," Castle said. When his wife nodded he looked slightly thoughtful before saying, "What happened then."

"We can't ask her now, unless you want to go up and interrupt their making up?" Beckett asked him. When her husband turned away she asked, "What?"

Castle quickly turned to her and explained what he'd asked Skye when they'd been left alone.

"She's not jealous of me right?" Beckett said.

"No, I think she's surer of Skye's love than she sounded like she was during their argument," Castle was quick to say. "But it just made me laugh to think you'd want to barge in on that. Unless…"

"Drink your coffee Castle," Beckett said, rolling her eyes. "So we have all night," she told him after they'd taken sips of their drinks. "And we're not going to be working on the case until tomorrow."

"Right, so… bed?" Castle suggested.

"No, get that deck," Beckett told him, nodding to the counter.

"Where'd you find this?" Castle asked as he saw there was a deck of cards.

"It was in that credenza over by the table," Beckett said before she started heading up the stairs.

"You really want to play?" Castle said, following her and trying not to spill his coffee in his hurry.

"We can always get some sleep like you suggested," Beckett told him simply.

"That was to see if you wanted it," Castle told her before he sat down with her. He took the cards out and quickly began to shuffle them before he dealt them out. "Wait, how's this going to work? We're only wearing two pieces each," he asked as he paused.

"I didn't mean strip poker Rick," Beckett told him.

"Oh, okay," Castle said, seeing she was serious. He was slightly disappointed at that but then looked at his hand before they started to play.

* * *

Hearing the door to the bathroom open, Beckett resisted the urge to turn to look at him, instead leaning her chin on her knees that were bent so she could put her arms around them.

"That was refreshing, you weren't kidding," Castle told his wife then. "But I wish you'd have gone with me." He started to step over to her when he froze, seeing the bed. "Love…" he started to say when he saw the bouquet of flowers was on his nightstand. She didn't respond, so he went over to her on the window seat and said, "Your message is coming through loud and clear."

"What message?" Beckett taunted with a slight smirk turning up the corner of her lips. "What if all I wanted was to sleep on a bed of rose petals tonight?"

Shaking his head, Castle made her stand up before he sat where she'd been. When she immediately sat on his lap he told her, "It's no use Kate, I know you too well to be fooled by that."

"Remember I used to be able to do it all the time?" Beckett asked, letting herself smile then at him.

"Yeah that was not fun," Castle said simply before he kissed her. He groaned deeply when she was quick to respond to him but then got himself under control, pulling away from her.

"What?" Beckett asked, a little startled at how fast he'd done that.

"No, I just… no need to rush," Castle told her.

"Well…" Beckett started to say before she bit at her lower lip. When he asked her what was wrong she murmured, "I want you to fuck me tonight Rick."

Shuddering at that a little, Castle said, "I wanted it too, seeing you in that bikini." He laughed when Beckett playfully punched his shoulder at the way he was shaking his hand up and down and he said, "I don't think you need to worry about me losing interest in you."

"Yeah, that's gone away more and more with the years we've added to our marriage," Beckett said quickly.

"And me?" Castle asked.

"Hmm… ask me that later tonight," she told him.

"Oh, you're evil, very evil," Castle replied before he leaned over slightly to meet her for a kiss.

When they had soon parted; since it was a simple one; Beckett pressed her forehead to his and said, "I never get tired of this."

"Knowing what we both want?" Castle asked. He wasn't surprised when his wife nodded her head and he told her, "That's why I love you, you want me the same way."

Beckett didn't reply to that and instead she started to stroke his cheeks, looking deeply into his eyes before they leaned back into one another. As they were slowly curling their tongues around each other she felt his hands slide around her so it wasn't a shock when he tried to pick her up. "Wait, not yet," she told him quickly.

"You want to stay here?" Castle asked in slight surprise. When she nodded he relaxed and wrapped his arms around her, studying her for a moment. "Then do you mind if I just... do a little exploring?"

Smiling as she knew what that could entail, Beckett nodded her head to give him permission and then watched as he ran his hand over her thigh that was exposed by her grey shorts. She bit her lower lip again as he was careful caressing her and she whispered, "We shouldn't be like this."

"I never liked to follow convention," Castle said quickly, as it wasn't the first time they'd spoken of how strong their desire was as they'd grown older and their physical relationship had grown more intense.

"Neither have I," Beckett replied before she made him tilt his head up towards hers. They kissed but it was a quick one before she was leaning back and watching as he ran his hands up her sides. She sighed as he ran them over her breasts carefully and once before he was wrapping his arms around her. She couldn't stop herself from moving then and she straddled his lap, not surprised when in immediate response his pressed his hands against the small of her back, bringing her close. "Oh god… Rick, it's… didn't you want to…" she tried to say as she could easily feel his erection with him doing that.

"There's nothing wrong in just… feeling," Castle said, having to pause to grunt a little in reaction to her slightly moving her hips. "That's a problem," he told her, having to grab her hips and hold them in place.

"Sorry," Beckett replied, brushing her lips across his.

"Not a problem," Castle said before he paused. "Wait."

"I think you had too much to drink at dinner lover," Beckett said, smirking at him. She could feel him grasping her tighter with that so she knew that it had gotten a little rise out of him. She then said, "Did you want to go to the bed now?"

Looking around them for a moment, Castle then told her, "I think I'd prefer to stay, for the moment."

Beckett only had a moment to react to that before her husband was crushing his lips against hers. She held onto him as tightly as she could but she was suddenly trembling heavily as she could feel Castle's hands sliding underneath her pink shirt to span across her back. She moaned into his mouth as he stroked her skin and she could feel the difference between hers and his as they were suddenly moving against each other. She broke apart then and murmured, "This isn't going to last."

"Yeah, let's, let's just sit like we were," Castle told her before making her sit on his lap. "And just… talk or kiss but slowly."

"Good idea," Beckett replied with a smile before she leaned over and did the latter as that was much more preferable to her.

Responding to her quickly, Castle held his wife tightly against him before he slowly pulled away at the same time she did. He was a little surprised when she pressed her cheek to his shoulder, leaning her head down to do so. "Okay?" he asked her, reaching up then to stroke her hair.

"You said slowly," Beckett pointed out.

"I didn't think you'd take it that seriously," Castle told her quickly.

Beckett smiled and shook her head before telling him, "You don't know me already?"

"No I do, it's just the way you were before…" Castle started to say.

"You're vacillating aren't you?" Beckett said as she raised her head to be able to study his expression.

Castle opened his mouth, about to tell her no, when he finally said, "Okay, maybe a little."

"Not that little," Beckett said. When he just looked at her she said, "Yes, I'm referring to this Rick."

Shuddering as she had moved a little on his lap, Castle said, "I'm letting you lead."

"To a certain point," Beckett said.

"A certain point," Castle echoed, nodding. He was a little taken aback when she leaned down and kissed him but like the one before it was very gentle and quick. Sighing he said, "That doesn't do much to calm me down."

"And it doesn't do that for me either," Beckett said before she was meeting his lips again. They lingered that time but they were very careful not to make it any deeper than their lips pressing together. She sighed that time when they parted and said, "I hate repressing."

"I'm agreeing with you on that," Castle said, rubbing her back as she leaned against him. They looked outside together for a while before he said, "I think it's been enough time."

"It has," Beckett replied. She took his kiss then, slightly surprised when she felt it was deeper than the previous three but he wasn't fully crushing her lips beneath his own. It was no less pleasurable and she shivered as she soon felt his hands slipping beneath her shirt to slide up her bare back. "Rick," she breathed when they'd pulled away from one another.

Castle heard her request in her tone then and he was quick to grab the bottom of her shirt, pulling it up over her head. He held her closely to him, not surprised when his wife gave a soft gasp as her nipples rubbed against his shirt and he started to lean down to kiss her when she stopped him. "You-" he started to say.

Beckett didn't let him continue, pulling off his shirt before he was wrapping his arms around her and pulling her flush against his chest. That time their kiss was rough and passionate and with her pulse starting to speed up instantly she slid her hands up the back of his head, running her nails lightly over his scalp before he jerked against her. That ended their kiss and she nearly laughed at that before she was cupping his face in her hands.

Staring into her eyes, Castle was quick to press on the small of her back before he murmured, "I can't wait."

"It's been long enough," Beckett said in response, knowing already what he had in mind. When he picked her up she allowed him to that time and she watched as he made his way to the bed, setting her down next to it before he sat on the edge. "Myself?" she asked.

"No," Castle told her shortly in reply. He then reached up to her waist and pulled the rest of her clothes off before he was placing his hands on the small of her back to bring her close.

Closing her eyes tightly, Beckett felt him kissing his way down to her sex from her navel and when he reached her clit she jolted against him slightly. She had to stop him, as she didn't want to lose control of her legs, and she made him stand. She smiled as he seemed a little annoyed even while she was taking off the last of his clothes, so to make up for stopping him she pressed her lips against his and then laid back in the middle of the bed, drawing him with her by holding his hand tightly. His kiss as soon as they were laying back was no surprise and she wrapped her arms around his neck as soon as he was doing that. She could feel him against her body, moaning softly in pleasure as he slightly shifted before he pulled back. "You-" she started to say.

"I'll do better… later," Castle said before he made her sit up, since she'd had her hair up in a makeshift bun for her shower. He watched her pull the band holding it and said, " _You're stunning my love_."

"You have me in bed already," Beckett said, though she couldn't help being touched by how serious he was in tone.

"This isn't to get you here," Castle replied genuinely though they would have the same kind of discussion from time to time; their words always different though. He then leaned towards her and whispered against her lips. "This is to remind myself this isn't my mind recreating you."

"I thought you couldn't," Beckett breathed as at the same time her husband was laying her back down. She reached up before he answered, gently stroking his cheek before he took her hand to kiss the palm a few times.

"It can't," Castle said. "But you're…" There he ended up trailing off as he suddenly let himself look over her body from head to toe and he shuddered slightly. He didn't finish speaking, as then he leaned down and pressed his lips to her exposed neck a few times, feeling his wife moving slightly. He then slid down over her body almost feverishly, as if by kissing her he was trying to devour her. But he could feel her at the very least and she was warm, her skin silky smooth below him and he didn't stop until he reached the apex of her legs. He paused there for a moment and then moved to kiss her again, pleased when she wrapped her leg around him as it let him know what his perusal of her body with his lips had done to her. "I need you," he said.

"You… can't feel I'm in the same position?" Beckett said, pausing to laugh breathily.

"No, I feel that but…" Castle said, studying her. When she leaned up to kiss him he had her permission to his unasked question and there he began to move them both.

Beckett nearly started to push herself up onto her elbows as he pulled her right leg up while he got on his knees. She leaned it against him before he could do so for her and she put her leg about his waist, a little surprised when he was pushing it lower until she wrapped it below his ass. With her ready she let herself prop her body up enough to watch as he then slid into her, making her tilt her head back and groan in pleasure before they were finally fully coupled together. Since he'd gone so slowly she had to wonder if he'd changed his mind about fucking her when he then pulled back slightly before thrusting within her as hard as he could.

Hearing Beckett's cry of joy Castle then forgot that he'd been intending to build things up and he went a little crazy, thrusting haphazardly. He was slightly startled at himself but realized that it was because of them trying to repress things that he was taking complete advantage of the freedom he had then to move. He had to fight with himself; quite a struggle since he could already feel how hot she was for him and the friction was instantaneous; but finally managed to get to a rhythm that he could maintain and not lose the next thrust back inside of her. He breathed out an apology, not surprised when that slipped out in Irish. "I can't… resist you," he told his wife, looking down at her.

Laughing breathily again at that, Beckett replied, "It's okay… I would be… be the same," before she closed her eyes tightly. She was moving with him by then, able to do so a little better once he had set on a pace that she could match. She was feeling the same joy in their bodies together, the friction between them making her entire body feel like it was a little too hot. But she soon reached up for a distraction and though he was a little far from her she let her fingertips just barely brush against his chest. She smiled when he grabbed that hand but that was soon dropping off her face as he was abruptly leaning over as her leg hooked over his shoulder. She took his kiss as soon as he was close enough to reach her and she dueled a little against him when his tongue slipped inside of her mouth. When they needed to breathe she was panting, watching him closely before he looked down her body, his raised a little above hers. "We… don't need to stay," she said simply.

Startled at that since he hadn't been taking her in that position for too long, Castle nodded and then moved a little more roughly then, wanting to make sure that she knew he was still enjoying her immensely. Finally he stopped and pulled away from her completely before making her get up on her knees. He knew she was expecting him to take her face to face but instead he had her turn. Her slight pause let him know her surprise but she was quickly moving to his touch, not even having to move her to get her exactly how he wanted so she was sitting on her knees. He wrapped his arm around her abdomen and then suddenly rammed into her as hard as he could, both of them groaning as he'd abruptly ended up shoving her against the headboard. "Love… I shouldn't…" he began, trailing off to let her reply to that.

"You can and you will," Beckett said, going a little crazy feeling him inside of her and not moving; still feeling the echo of him thrusting within her a second before. She couldn't help the short cry that escaped her lips when he began to move again, literally smashing into her. She had to hold onto the edge of the headboard in response to that and then slid her hands up against the wall, using that for far better leverage. "You couldn't wait," she taunted him then. "You need to have me… you want me Rick."

"Fuck my love you know…" Castle said before he abruptly stopped. When she started to turn her head back over her shoulder to look at him he slapped her thigh to her cry of pleasure and told her, "You're the same way," taking an equivalent tone she had in teasing him. "And you can't stop wanting me, if I just left you…"

"You wouldn't," Beckett shot back to him, a little irked that he'd figured out what she was doing, though she wasn't too surprised he had. "You need me… as much as I need you."

"Then we're perfect together Kate," Castle nearly growled against the back of her ear. He watched her, trying to withstand the pleasure of her tight and wet around him again, not getting tired of the sensation. It was then he had the sudden urge to do something and he leaned over to whisper in her ear, moving away to see her reaction to his request.

Beckett's eyes closed tightly once he had finished and she felt her head nodding, not sure she'd had much control over that. But she didn't stop when her husband carefully moved her so she was on a small stack of pillows she had no idea he'd made. He slipped back inside her then from behind and she breathed in deeply as he started to thrust. She tried to help him in his desire to find her g-spot and titled her hips for him. When he then moved them himself she acquiesced, as she was having a hard time focusing on anything but the steadily building pleasure within her where they were joined.

"If I make you come," Castle said in a kind of warning to her.

"I don't care… just… wait for me," Beckett then said, turning back to look at him.

Nodding as he didn't really trust himself to speak at that point, Castle tried to move even harder than he already was within her. He wasn't sure if he managed to do that but shortly after he had begun he felt his wife starting to slightly shake and cry out before she was calling his name. The tone of her voice at that was nearly too much and he just barely remembered to stop moving, feeling the extent of her orgasm as he could tell it was a strong one. He watched as she soon lost her struggle with her body, it going limp in front of him. There he withdrew from her carefully and lay her on her back as he gently stroked her cheek, watching her closely though he was literally aching, throbbing being out of her.

When Beckett came to she wasn't too surprised to see that her husband was above her and she murmured, "You never stop doing that to me Rick."

"As long as it makes you happy," Castle said, straining to not tell her that he was desperately needing her.

"Then you need to finish what you started," Beckett said, nearly crushing her lips to her husband's before he could ask what she meant. When his length suddenly slipped into her body she froze for a brief moment before she tightened her grip around him, pleased that he could tell what she wanted. A pause and then he was thrusting in her, making her wrap her legs around his waist tightly as she rushed to meet his pace. Even though he was going hard and fast, she managed to reach him and they moved together, lips parting for air as the sound of their hips slamming together reached their ears. "I didn't think… you would," she was able to breathe out to him.

"I know… it was torture," Castle said before he leaned down to her breasts. He brushed his lips over them as his wife was gently stroking his hair, paying close attention to both her nipples before he carefully pulled away. He blew on the slightly moist skin then, seeing her pleasure as she jerked up against him a little in response. He then allowed himself to bow his head and with that he took her right nipple into his mouth, beginning to suckle at her carefully, gently as she started to lightly rake her nails over his back in her pleasure.

Beckett was panting roughly, feeling the way their bodies were sliding against each other, both of them moist with perspiration. She cupped his cheek after he'd gone over her other breast and drew him down to her for another kiss. They ended up being very careful and slow and she trembled a little as it added to what she was already going through. She wasn't sure how he'd managed to arouse her so quickly but she didn't mind that he had as she could feel things were a little stronger than before. She sank her nails into his skin and nearly scratched at him as she suddenly felt her husband angling his hips down before he was smacking into her clit. It was too much and the last shred of her weakly rebuilt self control slipped out of her grasp, making her arch her back and cry out heavily, repeating her husband's name as the ecstasy was quick to seek out every inch of her body. It also left her a little out of touch with herself, though she was able to sense when her husband joined her in his climax. She pressed her lips against the side of his head as he repeated her name, his joy filled tone making her hold onto him just slightly tighter.

Castle wasn't sure how long they took going through their peaks, only aware when he thrust against her limp body rapidly a few times before he stopped. Shuddering in pleasure, he tried not to slump down on top of her and he whispered against her lips, "I love you Kate."

Running her hand over the back of his head Beckett murmured, "I love you too Rick." She took his lips then before they hungrily kissed each other and she let her arms wrap around his neck before they deepened it at the same time. When they finally parted a while later, she said, "That position we need to stop doing."

"We never seem to last long with the ones that have us too far apart," Castle said, nodding slightly in agreement. When he'd finished speaking he moved to lie next to her, holding her against him as he wrapped his arm around her. He watched her press close to his side before she placed her hand on his shoulder. "I never needed to be close before you."

"Neither did I," Beckett replied, smiling before she gently kissed his shoulder. She was about to speak again when she felt her husband's hand going over her hip and she paused, waiting to see what he would do. The slight gasp that managed to escape her lips was loud in the quiet room, his fingertips brushing against her clit. "Oh… do you-" she moaned softly before she started to say.

"No," Castle replied, very carefully rubbing her. He was concentrating on his speed, trying not to go too fast, so he missed what she'd said as she spoke again.

"Rick," Beckett said, reaching down and grabbing his hand. When he tried to shake her hold away she quickly got on top of him, grabbing his wrists to put them down on the pillow on either side of him. "You weren't listening to me."

"Sorry… I was enjoying… that," Castle replied, glancing down at her sex. When she called his name sharply he forced himself to look up at her and asked, "What?"

Smiling Beckett said, "Nothing, I'll show you better." And with that she spread her legs a little wider, reaching down to her breasts as she sat up on him. She carefully fondled herself as she kept her eyes on him then, biting her lower lip as he was staring at her intently. With his gaze fixated on her she soon lowered her hands on herself, going down until she had reached her mound. She started to rub her own clit immediately and when Castle carefully grabbed both her hips then she looked down at him to see what he wanted. She was a little startled when he moved his member until it was nestled against her folds and she bit her lower lip before she began to carefully move against him while resuming touching herself.

Since he could do so Castle started to run his hands all over his wife's body as much as he possibly could. He centered his attention on her breasts, knowing how to touch her in the exact way she liked. Eventually though he reached down with his right hand and started to rub her clit, joining her fingers. He watched as she reacted to that, tilting her head back before she suddenly rose up. As she lowered herself onto him he clenched his teeth together as tightly as he possibly could, she was incredibly wet and with himself being as aroused as he was he could easily feel her tightly surrounding him. "Love," he said, soon sitting up as he couldn't take being as far away from her as he was. He crushed her lips with his own as soon as he was up, their heads tilting back and forth rapidly. His mind was spinning, not sure how quickly they'd managed to make love again after the bout before. But as Beckett moved away from his lips to start nibbling at his ear, he lost his interest in trying to figure that out.

As Castle moved his mouth so it could take hers, Beckett held onto him as firmly as she could, moaning as he was soon starting to grasp her ass tightly. She moved harder with every thrust of her body and she tried to hold on to herself as yet again everything was building up within her. She lost her hold on time completely, feeling Castle's hands all over her body, caressing her and even massaging her as well. When her orgasm hit her it was hard and she could only hope she hadn't made that bout a quickie with her loss of herself. But soon she felt her husband joining her and she forgot her worry over time before they were coming down from their pleasure a while after that.

Holding Beckett to him as she slumped against his chest, Castle reached up and started to stroke her hair gently. When she trembled he couldn't help smile saying, "You're pretty incredible."

"Hmm, believe me when I say so are you," Beckett told him. She then sighed in disappointment when he made her lay back down and she watched him in slight surprise when he started to brush his lips over her breasts. "You can't resist," she teased him.

Castle was startled when his wife's hand appeared in his view and he pulled away to look at her. He wondered what was wrong as she wasn't smiling and he soon got his answer as she was moving out from under him. He sat up in a hurry as she then grabbed the roses that he'd given her earlier that night. He took them and very carefully pulled the rose petals, throwing them on the bed saying, " _I should have done that earlier_."

" _Now is fine_ ," Beckett said with a smile. She took the remaining full rose in the bouquet and holding onto it she laid back on her side of the bed since they'd been standing there. Before he could get on with her she reached up and gently ran the rose along his member, watching him as she then moved it in gentle strokes.

Reaching down, Castle grasped her hand and moved it aside before he climbed onto the bed. He reached for the rose and tossed it over onto the nightstand on her side and then lay on top of her. "Again love?" he asked, searching her eyes to see if she was serious.

Beckett hesitated for a moment before she finally sighed and said, "Not really but I just wanted to…"

"Tease me?" Castle asked. When she nodded he laughed slightly and then leaned down, kissing her hungrily. He was pleased when she was quick to respond and he kept that kiss up, carefully dueling before they parted and he wrapped his arms around her once he was laying on his side next to her.

Pressing herself against him again, Beckett reached up and started stroking his lower lip before Castle reached up and started to kiss at her fingertips as he held it in place. " _You think we'd ever stop completely_?" she asked him.

" _You're still afraid of that_?" Castle replied instead of asking.

" _I shouldn't be_ ," Beckett said, suddenly turning around so he pressed against her back. She smiled when he started to stroke her shoulder, beginning with the backs of his fingers and then said, " _I think I won't be stopping, not for a while_ ," as already his touch was sending sparks of pleasure through her skin and she shivered. His lips soon replaced his hands and she smiled wider as he nearly started to stroke her with them. But the enjoyment in his touch wasn't leaving her and she closed her eyes tightly as a soft whimper suddenly left her lips.

" _What do you want my love_?" Castle murmured to her, letting his hand run down her side before he slipped it underneath her arm and let it go over her abdomen. " _Do you want me_?"

"I don't know," Beckett murmured. She was a little surprised when he made her turn around then and she said, "Do you?"

Castle didn't reply to that, instead he leaned down and kissed her slowly before gently pulling back. "You're tired and so am I," he told her. He then paused and said, "You wanted me to do that didn't you?"

Smiling, Beckett replied, "I just had to see but when you kept your hand on my stomach I figured it out."

Shaking his head though he was still smiling, Castle leaned down to quickly kiss her before saying, "Perhaps in the morning?"

"Perhaps?" Beckett said jokingly as he moved to rest his hand on the small of her back, gently rubbing back and forth. "Yes," she then said quickly when he started to speak.

Leaning down then, Castle took her lips with his in another gentle kiss and he kept that up for as long as he could before he lay back down. He watched her for a while, and then said, "I'm wondering if it's going to take us longer here with the detective not coming back until later in the morning."

"I'm wondering if they've made up," Beckett replied. "Also if she's going to be okay."

"Mary?" Castle asked. When his wife nodded he said, "You make a valid point, it doesn't help she was almost hit. Or the fact that the police haven't found anything out yet."

Beckett was thoughtful for a moment and said, "I wonder about the killer sending the letters and pictures to her office."

"I was thinking the same," Castle replied. "It's bothering me and I have to wonder if it's because it makes no sense."

"No, it doesn't," Beckett replied thoughtfully before she sighed. "Though why the tail number on the photo?"

"Especially since it was sent so long ago," Castle said, nodding in agreement. "But it might have been them taunting Skye to do something, though what that would have been I don't know," he replied. "I guess going to the police would have been the likely course of action."

Beckett sighed in frustration and said, "We can't know until we get more insight and I'm getting tired of saying that, thinking it too."

The room was quiet for a minute before Castle said, "Then let's take our minds off of that."

"How?" Beckett said, looking up at him slightly suspiciously when he raised himself on his elbow above her.

Shaking his head, Castle reached down for the bed sheet and pulled it over their bodies before leaning down. He took her lips with his very carefully, yet with an undercurrent of sensuality as he couldn't control that for the life of him. When he finally managed to get himself to pull away, he pressed his forehead against hers and murmured, "I didn't mean to do that."

"I could tell," Beckett said. When he looked down at her she smiled and said, "I could tell that you were a little desperate at first."

Castle, looking at her intently, didn't answer as he was starting to carefully stroke her hair away from her cheek. When he finally managed to speak he said, "I was going to say, do you want to go over the itinerary?"

"No," Beckett replied firmly. When her husband looked at her in slight surprise she smiled briefly before saying, "You always get depressed when we reach England."

Opening his mouth as if to protest that, Castle had to finally concede that she was right and said, "Okay, then let me ask you one thing; here?"

"We can't really do that," Beckett said. She couldn't help but laugh softly when her husband flopped back on the bed with a frustrated sigh and she leaned over, kissing him lightly on the lips. "Sorry but we have no clue when we'll solve this case; if we will. Plus I'm still not so sure about going to the beach house. We need to wait for that. But I'll give you this at least, we'll go on that flight that Skye is doing on Thursday."

"Seriously?" Castle asked. "What?" he then said as she covered her mouth with her fingers.

"Sorry, you looked like an eight year old saying that," Beckett replied. "But yes, we'll go. I would like to have a flight with her that's normal, considering the last one…"

"Thank you," Castle said before he sat up.

"Now what?" Beckett said as she joined him.

"She never said where they're flying to," Castle mused. "What if it was New York? We could pick up the girls and… no?" he said, trailing off when he saw that his wife was shaking her head.

"Unlikely, a five hour flight for that?" Beckett asked. "I would say… maybe San Francisco."

"Oh, that would be pretty neat… hey," Castle said, an eager expression on his face. "What if we stopped for a layover?"

"Remember where the airport is in relation to the city itself Rick," Beckett said.

"Then we can have a nice time in the airport," Castle said. When his wife laughed softly he put his arm around her and kissed her temple saying, "I honestly don't think it'll take that long to solve this."

"Your confidence in the little evidence we have is inspiring," Beckett said wryly.

"Just wait for tomorrow, we'll have so much more," Castle said. He leaned down to kiss her lips that time and when he pulled away said, "A hypothetical trip?"

Sighing as she knew what he meant by that, Beckett finally nodded and laid down saying, "As long as we try and fall asleep while talking about this."

"Great, I know Disneyland is on the top of the list," Castle said, joining her and taking her against his side yet again. "And also we should put the beach there."

"If we're at the beach house at that point then that'll be easy to fulfill," Beckett replied. She studied his expression and asked, "What now?"

"Think I could ask Skye to teach me to surf?" Castle replied.

"You'd have to ask her," Beckett said with a slight shake of her head. "Not tomorrow though."

"You saw their surfboards?" Castle asked. When his wife nodded he said, "So they have surfing and we have horses… so not quite like us. Still close though."

Rolling her eyes, Beckett said, "What couple doesn't share something?" She laughed when her husband opened his mouth but then quickly closed it. "We're finished right?"

"No, so Disneyland," Castle quickly. "We should take them to the Promenade; the pier too you know."

"After the twins' reaction to us going," Beckett replied with a smile. "I think I agree. Anywhere else?"

"Remember me mentioning San Diego?" Castle asked. When she nodded he said, "There's the zoo."

"That world famous one," Beckett replied. She then said, "That's pretty far from here."

"But this is hypothetical remember?" Castle hurried to say.

"It would be nice to take them," Beckett said a little thoughtfully. She smiled when she felt her husband starting to stroke her cheek with the backs of his fingers and then continued saying, "Imagine how they would be there?"

"Imagine how many pictures Julia would take," Castle said. He leaned down as his wife was smiling at that and kissed her, feeling that grin disappearing as she was hurrying to follow his lead. He gently slipped his tongue into her mouth and started rolling it around before he forced himself to pull back when he realized he was being too forceful. "Sorry," he said.

"No, it's alright," Beckett replied, looking into his eyes. She then bit her lower lip and said, "But all of that's just hypothetical."

"It is but one thing I won't let be is taking you out to dinner one night here," Castle said. "Preferably in Laguna Beach."

"They have nice restaurants," Beckett stated instead of asking. At her husband's nod she took his hand that was lightly rubbing back and forth on her hip and entwined their fingers together telling him, "I hope that will happen."

Staring at her intently, Castle couldn't wait anymore and he said huskily, "Kate I can't stop myself. I need you so fucking badly."

"Neither can I, I want you Rick," Beckett was quick to say before she wrapped her arms around his neck tightly and pulled him on top of her as he drew the sheet completely over them both.

With that they began to make love once more, being rough instantly though they didn't say a word to each other as to how they would be in that bout. They knew what the other wanted already and it was enough to take them through their time coupled so intimately together. They had no chance of trying to curb their desire and didn't care they couldn't as they let the night slip away from them without their notice while they were so blissfully absorbed with one another every single second that passed.


	5. When I Come Back

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The title of this chapter is a lyric from the song Leaving On a Jet Plane by John Denver.

Breathing roughly, Beckett turned her head to look at her husband who was doing the same as her, though his hand was on her abdomen, gently stroking her skin. "Hmm, so the perhaps was really foolish to say," she commented when she felt she could speak.

"Yeah, we tend to do that," Castle replied before he turned onto his side and slid his hand over her side. He leaned down slightly so he could take her lips and as he was kissing her he gently cupped her cheek, letting his thumb run over her skin until they'd slowly pulled apart. "Should we get up?" he asked, pausing then.

Beckett started to speak but then sighed and said, "We should, I would like a cup of coffee before we go."

"Let me take care of that," Castle said. He got up and kissed his wife on the lips before he grabbed his pajama pants and slipped them on.

Watching him go, Beckett smirked slightly as she allowed herself to admire him walking away. She then propped up the pillows behind her when she was alone and leaned back against them. She glanced over to the window, smiling when she thought of earlier that morning when Castle had woken her up. He had been kissing her body, something that she had experienced him doing many times before but it hadn't lessened the desire and pleasure that had risen through her to such a point that she'd forced him onto his back. Biting her lower lip as she recalled riding him roughly, she was quick to push that thought out of her mind as she knew if she let it continue she'd end up becoming aroused.

Shaking her head, Beckett then leaned over to her nightstand and picked up her phone as a distraction. But when she saw she had no calls or messages she sighed and set it down next to her before she heard her husband coming up the stairs.

"Did you call them?" Castle asked when he saw where her phone was.

"Call who, the girls?" Beckett asked as she took the mug that he handed to her.

"No, Skye and Mary," Castle replied. He set down his mug, about to get on the bed when his wife pressed her hand onto his chest. "What?"

When she merely looked down at his pants, Beckett smiled as he pulled away and hurried to take them off before joining her. "I thought maybe she might have heard something," she told him before she looked down into her cup. She smiled again at the sight of the abstract pattern in the foam on the top and said, "I guess it's too early."

"Or they're not up yet," Castle replied.

Beckett was sipping at her coffee then and didn't reply until she had lowered her mug. "They could be getting their daughters ready for school," she told him.

Taking the phone to check the time, Castle said, "They're there already."

"I know," Beckett said, having noticed the time before. "I wonder what my father is doing."

"He's not going to snoop around on my laptop is he?" Castle asked.

Giving him a look, Beckett said, "Have you been to the restaurant they're going to take us to?"

Smiling slightly at the obvious change of subject, Castle said, "No but I've seen it before. It's hard not to miss. So you said that you wanted them to come here to get us, you want to watch them surf?"

"I know, I realized that after I said it," Beckett replied, sipping at her coffee again. "I'll have to tell her we'll meet her there."

"You want to go over the case again?" Castle asked, seeing that in her tone and the way she held herself.

"It might help," Beckett said simply before her phone started to shake. She quickly grabbed it from her husband and read the text that had been sent to her. " _We're a little late taking our daughters to school could you meet us on the beach and we'll go from there?_ " she read for her husband.

"That's fine by me but one question-" Castle started to say.

"Yes we can go watch them," Beckett replied, smiling at him as she was typing out a response to that.

"Thank you love," Castle said, leaning over to kiss at the junction of her collarbone and neck. "So we're finished with coffee, should we get started?"

"Yes, I'd like to-" Beckett began before she was cut off by her husband picking her up. "So this time we're taking the shower together?" she asked in amusement as he carried her into the bathroom and straight into the shower stall.

Castle didn't answer that, instead he set her down and as soon as her feet were on the floor he was pushing her back against the wall by walking her into it. His hands on either side of her he leaned down and took her lips, not too surprised to find that she was there to meet him, her arms wrapping forcefully around his neck as he clasped his hands tightly on the small of her back.

The two became a little lost then as the mist from the water was gathering around them obscuring them in its damp cloud, neither of them noticing as everything became that moment and each other in it.

* * *

"So those four months didn't hurt," Skye was saying to her wife as they were bobbing on the waves off of Santa Monica Beach.

"I agree," Mary said, looking out into the ocean. "But really, you didn't go surfing anywhere in Seattle?"

"It was raining most of the time," Skye replied. She then glanced back and paused when she saw two figures walking down the sand. "That would be them. One more?" When her wife nodded to her, she quickly lay on her board and started to go out into the water again.

"So that's really what you want to do?" Beckett asked, watching the two women soon turning around at the point where the waves began.

"You wouldn't?" Castle asked her as he looked over at her. "I think you should," he said hurriedly before she could respond to his question.

Rolling her eyes, though she was smiling, Beckett didn't say anything as she was waiting to watch Skye as she took the next wave. She was impressed to see the woman taking it easily before she went off the side of the board and told her husband, "She was probably doing that for a long time Rick."

"I'll ask," Castle said quickly as they went down to where the woman was walking up onto shore.

"Morning," Skye said to them.

"You two are okay now?" Castle asked. When he noticed his wife looking at him in some surprise, he quickly said, "You honestly thought I wouldn't remember we were worried about that."

"Hold that thought," Skye then said before Beckett could say anything. She then turned and watched with them as her wife took a wave and she smiled as she nearly was able to make it all the way back to shore. "You've been out while I've been gone," she called to Mary. Turning back to the two she then said, "And to answer your previous question, we're fine. We had a long talk and she reminded me she's not a child and I shouldn't hide things like that from her."

"And I," Mary said as she neared them. "Agreed that Skye had no reason to believe it was a serious threat being sent six months before. Does that say anything to you two? Especially since the picture was sent six months earlier too?"

"We're not sure," Beckett said as her husband looked to her.

"It depends on what else we can find out about this case," Castle said. "And I hope you don't mind, we went into your office to look at the murder board again."

"We did that before the girls got up," Skye replied.

"That's pretty early, you weren't… tired," Castle started to say before the two women looked at him in a little shock at that.

"That's more a matter between us," Skye said. "And no, we weren't." She then smirked and said, "Considering coral roses were given to you Kate, I would say I'm quite shocked you're not both exhausted." She couldn't help smile widely then when Beckett put her face into her hand and Castle shifted in embarrassment, feeling her wife taking her hand.

"So she knows the meanings?" Castle asked his wife.

"I do," Skye replied.

"So do I and I see what she meant," Mary said. "If you'll give us a bit of time, we'll get changed and head over for breakfast."

"Awkward," Castle began when he and Beckett were alone. He grunted slightly when she punched his side and said, "I couldn't help notice they didn't _look_ like they'd made up."

Sighing, Beckett told him, "Do you think we show any sign of that ourselves?"

Castle thought of that for a moment; though he already had his answer; and said, "I guess not. I couldn't help notice," he repeated at the end.

"I wonder if she's going to help us with the case now," Beckett said as they went over to the concrete path that cut through the sand.

"I don't know, doesn't she have her job?" Castle asked.

"She does, her first appointment isn't until one," Skye then said, coming to them from the restroom where she and Mary had changed. "By the way, we're heading home to change after we eat since our clothes are… as you can see wet now."

"That's fine," Beckett replied. "So any word from Detective Burke?" she asked as Mary was coming over to them.

"Just that he left San Diego and will be at our house at eleven," Skye said. "After a quick stop at the station."

"Did you two figure out anything new from the murder board?" Mary asked, looping her arm through her wife's.

"Unfortunately no, we did try to think of this from the point of view of someone at the NTSB wanting to get you out of there," Castle replied. He was surprised when the investigator suddenly froze and looking at his wife he could see that she was startled as well.

"It's not is it?" Skye asked, looking concerned.

Sharing a look with Castle, Beckett nodded to him and then said to the two women, "We should tell you about what happened to me." And with that they told them about Tyson's threats to their children as they continued on to the restaurant.

"So that's why you left, I had wondered but didn't want to ask, it wasn't my place," Skye said. "But you're sure he's not going to go back on that promise?"

"The Hamptons is small, we'd know if he was back," Beckett replied.

"And we know that Tyson would be out of the ordinary," Castle added. "Also that he would leave us a message in some form. We've never seen that message to date and since it's been about four years since we had that threat…"

"We're not relaxed," Beckett was quick to say as the two women exchanged a look. "But we can breathe slightly easier knowing that our daughters are safe."

"We don't really think that this is someone trying to get you to leave the NTSB," Castle said. "Since there's not a demand of you in any way."

"Would you do that though, if there was?" Mary asked her wife.

Whistling Skye said, "In an instant, I can't blame you two for leaving the city and the NYPD at that for your daughters. Our girls are the most important thing to us; we'd never do anything that would put them in any kind of danger so we'd do the same."

Nodding, since Skye had been looking at her as she'd been speaking, Beckett said, "Is this it?"

"Oh it is, didn't even notice we'd arrived," Skye replied. After she led them to a table that was right on the sand she said, "So how was the pool? Didn't have a chance to ask you that."

As a waitress had come over to them, Castle and Beckett couldn't reply at first, having to give their drink orders. But once they were left to their menus he spoke saying, "It's pretty nice, it's almost like our pool at home."

Seeing Skye pause in turning a page of the tall menu, Beckett said, "It's alright, it just reminded us of home. Rick was mentioning last night that it was pretty romantic, your father built that?"

"He didn't have romance in mind," Skye replied with a slightly nostalgic smile. "He wanted to make sure I had plenty of things to do and putting the pool back there allowed him to do that."

"So your father was a pilot," Castle said.

"He was," Skye replied, glancing at him since he already knew that.

Before he could continue, their waitress came back with their drinks and once they'd ordered Castle said to her, "Did someone watch you when you were a child and he was gone on his flights?"

"He flew a lot less when I was a child," Skye replied. "And when he did my dad would watch me. They helped each other out with that, as it gave him the chance to earn money to buy his home in Venice."

"So he lives close," Beckett said.

"He lives on the remaining canal in the city," Skye said. "The girls love going there."

"You know the city-" Castle started to say to his wife.

"Was named after the city in Italy because the man who named it wanted to make it a Venice of the west," Beckett said before he could. "I've heard the story. Too bad that didn't work out."

"It is but we prefer the surf to canals," Skye said. "Those of us who live here anyway."

"Mind if I ask you about your surfing?" Castle said as he leaned over slightly, taking Beckett's hand off the table.

Sharing a smile with her wife, Mary said, "We were expecting this to come up. But if you want to know, I was the surfer when we started dating."

"You didn't know how?" Beckett asked the investigator in surprise.

"Not a thing," Skye replied, shaking her head. "I watched Mary and eventually decided that I'd like to try my hand at it."

"And I taught her and she's pretty good, as you saw earlier," Mary replied, taking her hand to squeeze it tightly.

"Have you ever surfed in Hawaii?" Castle asked.

"We've been there," Mary said.

"We went around the islands once before we adopted the girls, just us two and our boards going from spot to spot that some friends of mine from a past investigation had told me about," Skye said. She smiled lovingly at her wife before suddenly shaking herself and saying, "Sorry," as she and Mary let go of each other.

"That's okay," Castle said, looking at Beckett and wondering at the expression on her face as she looked at the women across from them.

"This was in Maui," Mary was saying, handing her phone across the table to them.

"Nice," Beckett said, looking at the picture of the two women on a beach with their surfboards. "How long did it take you to teach her?"

"Not too long," Mary replied, smiling at her wife. "It helped that Skye knew how to paddle board already, so she had the balance you need."

"It took about a year for me to get good enough I wouldn't wipe out a few seconds after standing up," Skye said. Their food was served to them then and she said, "You two do anything together like that? Not writing, that's your career."

Beckett had to smile at that but she then said after eating some of her California omelet, "We ride horses together."

"That's right, you've told me about that," Skye said with a nod. "Andalusians?" When the two nodded she said, "We prefer Arabians a little more." When they then looked startled she said, "Haven't told you yet but we started to take lessons last year as Kathleen begged us for that as an early birthday gift. So we decided the whole family should do it and we go out to Burbank on weekends."

"You had to stop because of the investigation love," Mary told her wife.

Grimacing, Skye nodded and said, "I know but that's okay, now I'm back we can go back to doing that."

"You two play polo together?" Mary asked after they'd eaten a few bites of their meals.

"We do, a league that's for both men and women," Castle replied. "Are you interested in that?"

"Not so much but if we ever go out to New York again it would be great to see you play," Mary said.

"Fab and all of that of course," Skye said, raising her class of orange juice towards them.

"It's funny, I noticed how you talk with a slight accent now," Beckett told Mary.

"Living with her? Hard not to," the woman said, nodding towards her wife.

"But just her?" Castle asked.

"Her, her dad, our daughters…" Mary listed off on her fingers before she smiled. "It happens, since in the house all I hear are British accents. Why, do I sound horrible?"

"Not at all it's just interesting," Beckett said. She then saw that Skye was looking at her phone and asked, "The detective?"

"Call him Burke if you've a mind to," Skye replied, shaking her head slightly. "And no, I'm just checking on something at work…"

" _Grá_ ," Mary started to say.

"To see if I got any letters in the mail while I was gone," Skye told her quickly. "And that would be a no." She then frowned and said, "I don't like this to be honest, I have no clue what on earth these letters are all about."

"Maybe it was a warning, a taunt that you wouldn't be able to do anything because they gave you little in the way of information," Castle suggested.

Skye shook her head and sighed saying, "That we can't know but once we start on this with what Corey gives us we can figure it out."

Beckett watched as Mary placed her hand on her wife's arm before Skye shook her head slightly. She couldn't help think the same as she'd thought earlier and she glanced at her husband before said then started to speak. "You informed people at work about these letters," she stated instead of asking.

"Just the Chairman," Skye replied.

"Who's the Chairman now?" Castle said.

"Her friend," Mary replied with a smile. "She didn't tell you?"

"Was in Seattle Mary," Skye reminded her. She then looked to Castle and Beckett and told them, "It's Doug Feith."

"Really," Beckett said in surprise.

"I had the same expression on my face as your tone indicates. But he was voted in and he took that position instead of retirement," Skye said.

"Doesn't he still kind of need to work?" Castle asked.

"No, he goes to whatever investigation he chooses," Skye said. "And then he's more of a public representative than an investigator. But I told him about the letters when I first got them and he called the local police but they were impossible to track beyond the post office they were mailed at."

"And I'm guessing the police dismissed them?" Beckett asked her.

"Essentially they said that the threats were unable to be proven and that I should be careful but since nothing could be found nothing could be done," Skye said.

"And what about if you tell them how she was almost hit by a car?" Castle asked.

"I suppose they'd get more involved but… I'll wait to talk to Corey face to face," Skye replied with a slight nod. "How's your food?" she then asked the two.

"Since we finished… it's not too bad," Castle said, looking at his plate and then Beckett's.

"Great, we'll just pay-" Skye started to say as she was about to take the check from the waitress when Castle grabbed it.

"You did get dinner last night," Beckett said before the two women could protest.

"Our thanks for that," Castle told them.

When he'd gotten his card back and they were going back on the path to the parking lot their cars were, Beckett took her husband's arm and murmured to him slightly before he nodded. She went over to Skye then and made her stop as Castle went to join Mary, leading her away from them.

"Interesting, did he talk to you at all about his fear Mary was jealous of you?" Skye said, watching them do that.

"He mentioned it. No, I wanted to ask you about something," Beckett replied as they started to walk together. "Do you and Mary suppress any public displays that often? Is it a problem for you?"

Skye studied her then and seeing that the question was asked as a friend and not out of curiosity said, "No but when we first got together things weren't exactly to the point where they are today. We were terrified of being shunned or worse if we showed the public that we were in love. At home we're more open, definitely around our daughters, and of course among friends. And that kiss yesterday… we've never really been around you two that much, it's not because we're not friends of course." She was surprised when Beckett didn't answer that and she studied her face again before saying, "Alright?"

"Yes, I was just… thinking about something else," Beckett replied with a slight smile. "We'll see you back at the house," she then said as they were walking across the asphalt of the parking lot to their cars.

"Okay love?" Castle asked when his wife joined him and he opened the passenger door for her.

"Let's get back so we can get to work," Beckett said, smiling at him briefly before he went around the car to do just that.

* * *

"This doesn't feel weird to you?" Castle asked his wife as she closed the door.

"Well, they said we should look around the house while they were changing," Beckett replied as they looked down the hall to the door to the master bedroom; which was closed. "Which we did, so I guess-"

"You can come in," Mary said, opening the door then. "We're finished though Skye's on the phone in there."

"The girls' rooms are nice," Beckett said as she walked down to the doorway.

"They show their personalities well," Castle commented.

"They knew what they wanted," Mary said absently as she was putting on her watch. She then looked up at the two, seeing them looking around and said, "I suppose it'd be awkward coming in?"

"A little," Castle said. "So she was serious."

"About no planes?" Mary asked, glancing over at her wife who was still on the phone, turned to look out the window. "She was, I thought if I let her…" She then said, "I almost forgot, she wanted me to let you know that she found out Hannah's back here in LA."

"Is that who she's talking to?" Beckett asked, growing serious as she immediately recalled that was the name of Skye's friend that Reed had told them had flown with their vic to Iowa.

"No, she's trying to find out how to get in touch with her," Mary replied before she saw her wife was hanging up. "Any luck?"

"She got back last night and is still asleep," Skye replied. "According to her friend I just talked to. But if I text her," she continued as she was doing so then. "She should get in touch with me. I'm thinking a twelve thirty lunch?"

"Calm her down enough to speak?" Mary asked.

"Why haven't the police called her in?" Castle asked.

"They talked to her in Iowa," Skye said. "I forgot to mention that, sorry. Okay so we have everything set now, except for-" she was about to say when a ringing noise filled the house.

"Speaking of Corey," Mary said as she followed Skye out of the room and then walked with Castle and Beckett to go after her to the front door.

"It's me Skye, better let me inside," a man on the other side called as Skye pressed a button for an intercom.

"How is he?" Castle asked.

"A nice guy, rough around the edges," Skye answered. "He cut his teeth on patrol in Compton so…" She trailed off before she opened the front door to reveal a car had pulled up to the house and she smiled as a tall, thin African American man stepped out. "Corey, how's it going?"

"Doing well, relaxed from vacation and lucky I don't have to go in until Friday," Burke said as he hugged Skye quickly. "How're your girls?"

"Doing fantastic," Mary said as he hugged her next. "Pam and your kids?"

"All good," Burke said. He looked at Castle and Beckett once he was in the house and then turned to the two women saying, "These are them?"

"Richard Castle and Kate Beckett, this is Detective Corey Burke; Robbery/Homicide," Skye said.

"You always like announcing me like that," Burke said, looking back over his shoulder at his friend.

"Can't help it," Skye shrugged. "So you stopped by?"

"I did and turns out Racine isn't such a jackass after all," Burke replied.

"He gave you copies?" Mary asked.

"Are we all involved here?" Burke asked.

"We better get to the office and explain some things," Skye said, glancing at Beckett who nodded.

As they were going over to the room, Burke said to Beckett, "You were Homicide in NYC?"

"And he consulted on cases," she replied, nodding to Castle.

"And they were the ones investigating the murders that happened when I was out there," Skye reminded him. She handed a small stack of papers and said, "I took pictures of the letters and Mary insisted I print them out. Do you want to do this or should I explain?"

"Probably better that you do," Castle said. "It's your case."

"Technically the LAPD, but in this circumstance we'll let that slide," Burke said, listening to them. "Skye?"

With a brief nod, the investigator explained everything from the letters to the afternoon before when Mary and Kathleen had nearly been struck at the Promenade. When she finished she said, "It's not all that much but it's a start."

"First off they know your habits," Burke replied, standing up from the chair he'd been sitting on.

"You go there a lot?" Castle asked.

"Quite often," Skye said, Mary nodding with her. "But to strike that much in the open, in summer…"

"I think they're getting desperate," Burke said.

"It might have something to do with you being gone," Beckett pointed out then. When the others all looked at her at that she said, "You were gone for four months after two months had passed since that last picture. They need to act now and they're being reckless."

"The connection with the murder is pretty weak you know," Burke then said to Skye.

"Oh I agree, if it wasn't for that picture I don't think I would have really become this involved, I would have let Racine have it to himself," she replied. "But that's the problem, what did Brent know that led to him being killed."

"The most obvious idea is that he found out what the killer was trying to do with these letters and picture," Burke replied.

"What they want though is the question," Mary then said.

"Right, who do they want? You dead and Skye to themselves, or just taunting you into…" Castle said, repeating theories they'd already said for the detective's sake.

"There weren't any letters you threw away?" Burke then said to Skye.

When she shook her head Beckett then said, "Why don't we treat these as separate incidents, for the time being, and focus on the murder? Unless you suddenly get another letter at work."

"They might not send it there," Skye told her friend. "I'm not intending to go back quite yet."

"She's still got a point," Burke replied. "Take a look at all that, watch the DVD that's on top after," he said as he gave the file he'd been holding over to Skye then.

"I got the ME report already," the investigator commented, seeing that was the first paper underneath the DVD that Burke had mentioned. She nodded to the others to join her on the other side of her desk as she then pulled out the rest and saw they were crime scene photographs and notes on conversations with people related to the case.

"This is all they have?" Beckett asked the detective.

"It is, really they're at about the same place that you are," Burke said.

"Burke," Skye said after appearing that she was hesitating to speak.

"Yes McDouglas," the detective said knowingly.

"I'm having Hannah Bridges over for lunch later," Skye told him.

"Well since she's your friend I'm sure it'll be nice for you two to catch up," Burke replied. "But you're going to have to tell me so I can tell Racine."

"I figured as much," Skye said with a nod. "Alright so I guess we're ready to watch this?" she asked, holding up the DVD. Without letting anyone answer that rhetorical question, she set it into the player that was under the TV against the wall. "In case you two are wondering," she said to Castle and Beckett. "I use this for investigations once in a while."  
"Or for the girls to watch so we can work on our computers," Mary added before Burke walked over to stand next to the screen.

"You know what's on this?" Castle asked the detective.

"Not exactly," Burke replied. "I have a list of where the clips take place."

Looking to the TV there was a black and white security camera shot of a man talking with a woman and the other four looked to Skye who nodded. "That would be Hannah. This must be before… yeah," she said, interrupting herself when the two got into the plane. "Nothing beforehand?"

"They edited it down," Burke said. "So you're lucky to get even this remember."

"Where's this?" Beckett asked as the clip jumped and the plane was next to a runway, being refueled as the vic and Bridges were watching.

"It's Cleveland, Ohio," Burke answered. "Their first refueling stop."

"Look he's holding the bottle," Castle said, nodding to the screen.

"And he's not drinking that much," Skye said musingly. "I wonder if…" She paused the footage and then went to the desk, a little surprised when Beckett was there a step ahead of her. "You're thinking the same?" she asked, letting her sift through the crime scene photos.

"It's a guess," she replied as the other three gathered around them. "Yeah there are bottles here…" Beckett then turned to Burke and asked, "Was there anything left in the bottles to test?" as she showed them the picture of the interior of the plane; specifically the passenger seat and the three empty bottles that were on the floor.

"There was but that test won't be finished until… now," Burke started to say when his phone rang.

Seeing the slight frown on his face Skye asked, "It was a slow poisoning?"

"That's what he's thinking now he has a better idea of how much arsenic was in the bottles," Burke said. He looked at Beckett and said, "I suggested they look more into the drug angle."

"That might bring the FBI into this though," Skye said. When the detective looked at her she then shook her head telling him, "I've never come across drugs in an investigation. You know they don't give me the smaller craft unless they're also involved."  
"What about-" Burke started to say.

"No that Rio de Janeiro investigation doesn't count," Skye said, shaking her head again. "They had just moved their drugs to the plane as then authorities had been suspecting the cartel to be using the train system to transport them."

"You never seemed that surprised that your friend was dealing drugs," Castle then said when they were all quiet for a moment.

"I was and wasn't," Skye said.

"That was because we never expected that of him and wasn't because he was having some financial troubles," Mary said for her wife.

"The FBI has been looking into that," Burke said. "But I can't find out what they've gotten from their investigation Skye."

"That I figured but I don't think this flight to and from DC was for the drug smuggling," she said. "Should we continue?" she then asked, nodding to the TV. When no one made any objections she pressed play and they watched him at his next stop. "Denver," she said before Burke could tell them. "I flew there a few times myself."

"Look at him," Beckett said as the man was holding a jacket closed over him, bent over slightly.

"Was there anyone there that spoke to him?" Castle asked the detective.

"A member of the refueling station for the smaller aircraft that flew in spoke with him," Burke said, going to the papers with statements from people outside of the state. "Here, Shane Carlson," he said, handing it to Skye.

"Victim was complaining of stomach troubles and appeared to be ill," she read. "And he mentioned needed to get home to his other plane…"

"Strange reason to need to go home," Castle said.

"It is," Beckett said. "Nothing about him acting oddly besides that?"

"No but there is a mention of him drinking a bottle of tomato juice," Skye read. "Victim told Mr. Carlson that he should switch to ginger ale as a joke but never discarded the bottle of juice while he was at the airport. So there he got the last big dose."

"Enough time for him to be nearly dead by the time he reached here," Burke stated.

Since the footage had finished by then Skye took the DVD out of the player and then handed the disc to her friend saying, "I think we've gotten everything we could."

"You know to call me Skye," Burke replied as she shook his hand. "And once you're finished with these papers…"

"A bonfire sounds nice tonight," Skye said simply.

Glancing at his wife, Castle was slightly startled to see that she didn't look too surprised at that and he guessed she agreed with that to keep the detective from getting into trouble. He nodded with Beckett as Burke said goodbye to them and watched while Skye and Mary left with the man to see him out. "So we have slightly more but-" he started to say.

"It's going to be up to her friend if we get anything else," Beckett said with him. She nodded and then said, "I'm guessing that she's not the killer because they didn't bring her in sooner. But why aren't they looking at more of the security footage at JFK, they can now."

"They are now," Mary said, coming back into the room ahead of her wife. "But there are a lot of people at the area for the private aircraft, so it's taken some time."

"Is he going to let you know what they find?" Beckett asked Skye.

"That he is," the woman said, going to the murder board that her wife had taken out earlier. She started to write on it, before she spoke in Irish to her wife and took the map Mary got for her.

"Timeline?" Castle asked as he and his wife watched her place a flat piece of plastic on top of it on the board.

"Yeah so here, JFK, he spent… about two hours beforehand," Skye replied as she marked the flight path and stops before she paused.

"He could have gotten something to eat or drink, it was breakfast time there," Mary pointed out to her wife.

"That's what they'll need to find out," Skye said with a nod. "But he was definitely drinking the tomato juice here, according to the ME. And then there's Cleveland, still drinking but not feeling the effects yet."

"Can I point something out to you?" Castle then asked. When Skye looked at him he said, "You mentioned he was nursing the drink, but there were three bottles."

"It took him two days," Skye replied.

"He stayed over in Iowa remember," Beckett said, as there had been a jump in the footage.

"Then the killer timed the poisoning perfectly," Castle said. As the three women watched him he grabbed a crime scene photo and said, "They were in a holder, lined up in a row. What if they were gradually poisoned?"

"That would explain why he wasn't showing any symptoms on his stop to Iowa," Beckett said, looking at the statements from the people who'd seen the vic there.

Skye was quiet before her wife asked her what she was thinking about and she said, "I'd like to see it."

"Your plane?" Mary asked slightly hesitantly.

"There's no other," Skye replied. She then shook her head and said, "I'll try to go out to the hangar it's in later though the LAPD will have it roped off."  
"You wouldn't be able to search it?" Castle asked.

Smiling briefly at him Skye said, "Racine wouldn't be that helpful." She then sat down and sighed telling them, "I think we're stuck yet again."

"This will happen on cases," Beckett told her. "You have lunch to look to remember."

"Speaking of that how's our food supply?" Skye said, standing up suddenly and looking at her watch.

"Pretty good, I went to the Farmer's Market down the street on Saturday," Mary replied. "You're going to make your pizzas?"

"Best thing I know how to make," Skye replied. "So I suppose if you two wanted, you could go out to-"

"Damn it," Mary said, nearly growling as she looked at her phone which had sent out the sound of a bell ringing.

"They asked you to bump up your appointment?" Skye asked in concern.

"They did," Mary replied, glancing at her watch then. "In a half hour, so I have to go. Will you be okay getting your lunch ready?"

"I'll be fine," Skye replied, taking her wife's hand.

"We'll wait in the kitchen," Beckett said as the two women suddenly left. She checked the time and said, "Twelve, funny how fast the time went."

"Well, it took us a while to get back here with that construction on PCH," Castle said. "But you think we should be here for this lunch? Not leave Skye to it?"

"You just want to take me out somewhere," Beckett said with a smile, going over to him and putting her hand on his shoulder. "Where?"

"That restaurant at the end of the pier," Castle said, looking up at her.

"Another time love," Beckett said, leaning down and kissing the top of his head before she took his hand and pulled him over to the kitchen. She sat at one of the tall chairs at the island while her husband leaned against it next to her and they watched through the window above the sink as their friend came out of the garage a minute later.

"Wow, must have been a hell of a kiss," Castle couldn't help comment as they could tell from even that far away that the woman's lips were a bright red.

"Don't mention it to her," Beckett said. She could feel her husband's gaze on her as her tone had been nearly a snap and she shook her head quickly before Skye came inside.

"Do you want us to join you with this?" Castle asked. "I can always take her out to… someplace."

Looking at him for a moment as she went to the sink, Skye then looked at Beckett and arched an eyebrow slightly.

"He wants to take me to the place at the end of your pier," she replied.

Laughing softly at that as she started to wash her hands, Skye said, "Not my pier but I had planned for you both to stay. She's a fan of yours."

"Mine?" Castle asked.

"There's two of you here Mr. Ego," Skye said teasingly as she took an apron out from a drawer and put it on. "She's a fan of you both. I thought it might ease up what may turn into an interrogation."

"That and your pizzas," Beckett replied. When the investigator looked to her in surprise she shrugged and said, "It seemed like they were good from the way Mary was talking about them."

"You're making them by hand?" Castle asked in surprise as she pulled out a box with some dough in it from the fridge.

"That I am," Skye said simply. "You two don't need to stay, you could… I don't know tour the backyard if you'd like."  
"You don't want an audience," Castle said knowingly.

"No, I thought this might bore you," Skye said, looking up at him as she was rolling out the first of two balls of dough she'd made from the box.

"I think he wants to get some tips," Beckett replied.

"And I'm interested in seeing how you might top this…" Castle replied, watching her closely as she soon started on the second pizza. "No crust?"

"This is California Mr. Castle," Skye said with a slight smile. "No I just prefer no crust and very thin pizza; I'm here for the toppings, not bread."

"Which is sourdough," Beckett replied.

"You'll enjoy it," Skye replied.

"So now we're seeing how Californian you are," Castle commented as she got a jar of what looked to be homemade tomato sauce out of the fridge. Before she could reply to that, he asked Skye with a touch of eagerness in his tone as to how she'd made that.

Smiling at her husband as he was listening to their friend's explanation closely, Beckett nearly jumped when she felt her phone suddenly shake in her pocket and she took it out.

"The girls?" Castle asked as by then Skye was getting more items from the fridge.

"Yes my dad is with Julia at the class," Beckett said, smiling before she showed him the screen of her phone. "He took this picture."

"So your daughter was recently in a competition you mentioned," Skye said, looking at the picture after Castle had. When the two nodded she said, "She got second again?"

"She did, we-" Castle started to say.

"You Rick," Beckett was quick to interject.

Sighing in mock frustration, Castle finally continued saying, "Okay, I was worried that she would be frustrated that she kept coming in second but she was fine with it."

"She prefers dancing," Skye said simply, sprinkling cheese onto the sauce on the pizzas.

"She does," Beckett replied, watching as the investigator was putting slices of cherry tomatoes. "Margherita?"

"No, this is more a California club," Skye replied. "On a pizza." She smiled as the two watched her place the slices of turkey, ham and bacon on the cheese before putting the pizzas into the oven. "After that I put some lettuce on it and then add a side of ranch," she told them. She started cleaning up before saying, "Would you mind grabbing a bottle of wine?" to Castle.

"Oh sure, what would you like?" he asked, straightening up quickly.

"Your pick, you know what we'll be eating," Skye replied. When she and Beckett were alone; since the wines were in a small cellar off the kitchen; she said, "I'm planning on having us eat out in the rose garden. Hannah loves the garden and she prefers to eat outdoors."  
"You know a lot about her," Beckett commented.

"She's a good friend," Skye said, drying off her hands once she had finished cleaning up. "Not that kind, you'll remember that Mary's my first girlfriend… wife too." She looked up and said with a smile, "You have a hard time believing that."

"To a degree," Beckett replied.

"No one ever tried to ask you out or come on to you?" Castle asked as he came back into the room.

"Sure but I never went for it," Skye replied. She was grabbing some plates and when she turned she nearly jumped as Beckett was standing next to her.

"Where's the table?" she asked, taking the stack.

"To the left," Castle said before Skye could answer that. When the two looked at him he said, "I went to the right and didn't see it there."

"He's right but you don't-" Skye began before she left them.

"I'll join her," Castle said, taking wine glasses before he followed his wife.

Looking up from the table as her husband approached Beckett said, "I almost thought she'd come running after me to-"

"Another picture?" Castle asked as she set down the last plate and hurriedly got her phone out of her pocket.

"It's a video," Beckett replied. She waited until her husband had put down all the glasses before pressing play on the clip. She smiled with him as they watched Julia dancing the Cha-Cha-Cha, the newest dance that she was learning.

"She's enjoying it," Castle said when the clip stopped, smiling at her. "And she's starting to get that move down," he added.

"You mean she's getting better at rolling her hips," Beckett said wryly.

"Who's rolling their hips?" Skye asked, coming up to them.

"Our daughter in her dance," Beckett said.

"Another picture?" Skye said.

"A video," Beckett replied, waiting for her to come over to watch it.

When it had finished, Skye was about to comment on that when she heard the sound of a horn honking outside and said, "That'll be Hannah," to the two. "Stay here I'll warn her that you're here."

"Wait, warn?" Castle asked, having nodded as the woman left before he realized how she had worded that.

"Yes, warn, sit Rick," Beckett said, pushing him playfully over to the table.

"So rough Ms. Beckett," Castle said though he allowed her to lead him over to a chair. They sat down together and watched for Skye who soon appeared, walking with a blonde woman towards them.

"Kate, Rick, this is Hannah Bridges," the investigator told them. "And Hannah, you're aware of who they are already."

"I am, I'm a big fan of your books," Bridges said with a smile as she shook their hands. "I was a little surprised that you two were here at Skye's home."

"I explained how we knew each other," the investigator said. "She means your coming here now. And I'll go ahead and I'll answer that Hannah, I invited them to come because of the flight I'm going to be piloting soon."

"Oh that's right," Bridges said in remembrance. "That should be pretty nice if she's flying."

"I'll be right back," Skye said then. "The pizzas will be ready."  
"Oh fantastic, I've always loved those," Bridges said with a smile. She turned to Castle and Beckett when they were left alone and smiled a little hesitantly saying, "Do you mind if I ask if you'll have another book coming out this year?"

"We will but that's about all the information our publisher would want us to give you," Castle said with a slight smile. "But you'll probably enjoy it if you've liked our previous books."

"More than likely," Hannah said. "I have to say that I loved how in your first book you had Skye there," she said with a smile. "I never asked her, she didn't mind?"

"Of course not, since I had a feeling Kate would make sure he didn't make Sky outrageous as compared to who I am," Skye said before either Castle or Beckett could respond to that.

"She said it would have been an insult to you," Castle said as he hurried to her to take one of the pizzas she was carrying. Once they were both set down they gathered around the table and he watched as Skye sliced the pizzas. He was waiting for her to start talking about their case, wondering when she would. Glancing at his wife as they got slices for themselves and when she slightly shook her head, he nodded and then looked back across the table as their friend began to speak.

"So I haven't heard from you in a while, where have you been?" Skye asked after they'd taken a few bites.

"First, this is excellent Skye," Bridges said. "And in answer to your question, I was in DC, visiting someone we're maybe going to hire."

"Should I be concerned?" Skye asked jokingly.

"That was Leslie's decision, not mine," Bridges replied, shaking her head. "She wanted to get this modern artist but after seeing him together we decided that he wouldn't work. So I'm glad you invited me over because I have a job offer for you."

"Great, I have some time right now to make designs so what would you like?" Skye asked her.

"I have to get my file; do you want to hear about that now?" Bridges asked in some surprise.

"No let's finishing eating, it's a lovely day and we should enjoy it and not talk about business," Skye said, looking across the table to Castle and Beckett.

"She's right," Beckett was swift to reply, getting the message the woman wasn't saying.

"It is a great pizza," Castle commented, nodding in agreement to the investigator's desire to wait.

"These two are going to be heading to Europe this summer," Skye then said, glancing to Beckett who merely smiled at her.

"That should be great," Bridges said. "I did a year of college in Paris, best decision I ever made. Are you heading there?"

"For a little," Castle replied. "We're going to take our family with us."

"You have two daughters I heard?" Bridges then asked.

"And my oldest daughter," Castle said. "Plus her dad and my mom."

"Should be interesting. But the great thing with the parents going along is you can have them watch the kids and go off on your own," Bridges replied with a smile.

"You did that last year with Raymond?" Skye asked.

"He's my husband," Bridges told Castle and Beckett quickly. "And we did, we had a fantastic time and it was… wonderful," she added.

Trying not to show her amusement, Beckett asked, "Where did you go?"

"Oh sorry, we went to Iceland, Norway, Sweden and Finland, toured that entire area," Bridges said.

"That would be interesting, I've been to Sweden but not the other three countries," Castle said.

Bridges took off then, speaking about her experiences with her husband and their son. As she spoke Castle and Beckett glanced at each other, their gazes telling the other that they were finding the woman less and less a suspect. But they couldn't be sure of that since she had been the last person in the plane besides the victim and also had been there in DC where he had likely started drinking the poisoned juice.

"I'm sorry, I'm taking up all the conversation," Bridges finally stopped herself by saying. "What about your trip, are you heading all through Europe or just a select section of countries?"

"The latter," Beckett replied. "Spain, Ireland, England, Scotland, Wales and Paris. We would have tried to go through France itself but we didn't have the time once we compiled a list of places we wanted to see in the other countries."  
"We did want to take our daughters to see Paris at least, it'll be a great experience for them," Castle added.

"What about you?" Bridges asked her friend then.

"I'm surprised you didn't ask me beforehand," Skye replied with a slight smile. "We're going to Hawaii."

"Again?" Bridges asked in surprise.

"Yes again," Skye said, pretending to be annoyed. She then laughed with her friend and told her, "We had a family vote on that and decided where we were all agreeing on was Hawaii. So we're heading there."

"For how long?" Beckett asked; she and Castle already knew about where the McDouglases were going but not the details.

"From the second to last week of this month until the second to last week of August, so two months," Skye replied.

"Are you going to every island?" Bridges asked.

"We are, we'll spend about a week and a half, two weeks," Skye said with a nod.

"How're you flying?" Bridges said.

"I never thought about that," Castle said. When the women all looked at him he quickly explained, "How you fly as a civilian."

Smiling at that Skye said, "It depends where we're going of course. In this case, Hawaiian."

"Do you have a connection there?" Castle asked. When the investigator nodded he stated, "A case."

A second nod, and then Skye explained, "I looked into a case of metal fatigue, it was nearly identical to the Aloha Airlines incident back in the eighties, a piece of the fuselage ripped off mid flight."

"Did the exact same thing happen there?" Beckett asked, vaguely remembering the case from when they'd been looking into the woman's past work.

"No it was down towards the tail and nearly took out the rear door so they were lucky everyone was buckled up after takeoff. As well as being so close to the airport," Skye said. "But that's a little grim to talk about at lunch. How're Raymond and Noah."

"Noah is my son," Bridges explained to the two. "They're fine, they were so happy to see me after DC."

Nodding Skye said, "My girls were the same after I came home yesterday."

"Oh that's right you were up in Seattle, really glad you were able to figure things out," Bridges replied.

"Believe me, I was too," Skye said. "And they're all doing fine, Mary and the girls," she answered quickly before her friend could ask the question.

"Well that was just a fantastic lunch," Bridges replied, finishing her third slice by then. "Really shouldn't have had that last one but I couldn't resist. I'm so glad I came out to see you Skye."

"So am I," the investigator replied. "Let's clear up here and go inside so I can hear that proposition."

"Sure," Bridges said.

With that the four startled to clear up the table and in the kitchen Castle helped Skye wash the dishes while Beckett engaged Bridges in a conversation in the doorway leading to the dining room.

Since they were out of earshot of the other two, Castle leaned over and whispered to her, "Are you sure-"

"I'm very sure, I need her to be relaxed and with some food and the business proposition finished, she will be," Skye interrupted him with quickly.

" _Alright but it just seems like this is taking a long time_ ," Castle replied. When the investigator shot him a look he quickly told her, " _I know, you've got this_ ," as he held up his hands.

"So where would you like to talk Skye?" Bridges said when she and Castle were walking over to her and Beckett.

"In the dining room, it's more comfortable since my desk we'd have to reach over to one another," Skye replied. She led the way into the room and bringing the bottle of wine she refilled everyone's glasses before she said, "So what do you have for me?"

"Well you know that we're going to be getting the new 747x planes," Bridges replied, opening a folio and bringing out some drawings of the planes. "And there you have it."

"Okay, you know how this works Hannah," Skye said, looking up at her.

"California," Bridges replied very simply.

Leaning back in the chair she was sitting on, Skye asked, "Do I need to think this up now?"

"We'd like just a subject list that you'll draw for the planes," Bridges replied.

Taking the paper and pen the woman handed over to her Skye glanced at Castle and Beckett, wondering if she should let them go do something else as she thought they might be bored. She started to open her mouth to speak when the latter beat her to it.

"We're interested in seeing how this goes," Beckett told her.

"Okay, well, Golden State is a California based airline," Skye told them.

"We've seen those, they're covered in your state flag," Castle said swiftly.

Nodding, Skye then said, "I designed that as well, since Hannah's the co-CEO and she and Leslie Boone pick the designers themselves."

"It helps I'm her friend," the CEO replied with a smile. "But Leslie has to approve too."

"So a checks and balances kind of thing," Castle said.

"You want just a single subject for each of these," Skye then said, bringing the attention back to what she was supposed to be doing then. At her friend's nod she then said, "Well obviously we're going to need to have poppies, can't imagine that not on the plane."

"Good, I was hoping you'd think that. What about the fields at Gorman?" Bridges asked.

"I'll show you pictures later," Skye told Castle and Beckett as she could tell the two of them were confused at the name. "That'll work fine, with some larkspur and blue skies. We'll need to have San Francisco and LA."

"What about San Diego?" Castle suggested, not surprised when Beckett squeezed his arm.

"You two are free to go ahead and join in," Skye said with a smile, catching that. "And I think with San Diego… Balboa Park?"

"The buildings and trees?" Bridges asked. When her friend nodded she did so back saying, "You could have the Del in there too."

"The Del?" Beckett asked.

"Del Coronado, very famous hotel down there," Skye said quickly, writing on the list. "Mary and I stay there when we're on our own. Now what about Yosemite?"

"Perfect, what about animals?" Bridges asked.

"How many are you ordering?" Skye asked in surprise.

"About… ten," Bridges replied after thinking. At the shock on the faces of all three of the others, she laughed softly and said, "The company's doing… amazingly well and we're adding Dublin and Edinburgh to our destinations."

"Really? We may have to fly with you next time we go to Ireland," Castle said. He then paused as the two other women went back to talking and leaned over to his wife whispering, " _Did I just say that_?"

" _We'll see if you stick to that after she asks her_ ," Beckett said. At that her husband then quickly explained to her what Skye had told him while they'd been cleaning up and she nodded, glancing at the two across from them. "Sorry, we were just talking about something with our trip," she said as they were both looking at them.

"Just a second," Bridges said to Skye. "Do you think I can ask you two about your books?"

"Depends on what you're asking about," Castle said simply.

"Well, I'm wondering are you going to have Moor and Green get married at all?" Bridges asked, looking a little sheepish with that said.

"I've been wondering at that myself," Skye then told her friend to put her at ease.

Smiling Beckett said, "We're not totally sure, at times we lean towards it but then others we're unsure if we should have them that close."  
"The fact that they're hiding the relationship?" Skye asked. At their nods she said, "They could still do it, it's been done before."

"It wouldn't be easy though," Bridges said.

"More conflict and angst," Castle told his wife.

Shaking her head as they had already decided that in the fifth book they'd have Moor propose to Green, Beckett said, "We'll see if it can be done first. So do you have the whole list ready now?"

"Gorman, LA, San Francisco, San Diego, the sea lions…" Skye read off her list. "That's only five of them." A look of realization came to her face and she hurriedly said, "A view of the kelp forest and some humpback whales. I should also do a vineyard and a desert scene and a beach. One more."

"Disneyland?" Castle asked. He was startled when the two women laughed briefly and asked, "You'd have to ask permission from them?"

"We would and it would be expensive," Skye said. She then smiled widely and said, "But I think we could put the pier on it."

"Perfect," Bridges replied. She took the list and said, "Those are your canvases," referring to the outlines of the planes in front of her.

"Do you want me to do line sketches first or color too?" Skye asked as they all stood up.

"We'd like color… well, I should say I'd like color on these, because they need to be seen like that," Bridges replied as she followed Skye first to the kitchen.

"I should be able to get these prepared in… two weeks," the investigator then said.

"Fantastic, we'll discuss everything else once Leslie agrees to the set," Bridges said. "Do you need a copy of the list?"

"Let me take a picture of it," Skye replied, waiting to use her phone for that as her friend set it on top of the counter. "Alright, if I think of something else, I'll call you. The animals will be in their native habitat here in the state."

"Thank you so much Skye," Bridges said, hugging her. "And for lunch, it was fantastic."

"You're very welcome," Skye replied with a smile. "Wait, I almost forgot to ask, how was Iowa?"

"Iowa?" Bridges said in obvious confusion.

"Yeah, did you hear about Brent-" Skye started to say.

"Oh yes, I did, it was so sad to find out about him," Bridges said. "But wasn't he dealing drugs now?"

"He was, did you ask him about that?" Skye said. At the baffled look on her friend's face she said, "Hannah, I was told that Brent gave you a ride to Iowa, you were seen with him in Dulles."

"Yes, I did see him but I was never in his plane with him. I told the LAPD that," Bridges said, laughing nervously as she saw the looks on the other's faces. "I talked to him but he was with another woman… oh god."

"What?" Beckett asked, unable to help joining the questioning.

"She looked like me, Brent even said she looked like my twin," Bridges replied. "And you know what, you know her Skye."  
"I do?" she asked in surprise.

"Oh, of course you do," Bridges replied.

"Where were you before you saw Brent at Dulles?" Skye asked instead of trying to figure out who she was talking about.

"I was at the DC office and then my hotel, I was trying to get the deal with Boeing completed, you know they were having the meeting there for airlines wanting to order the 747x," Bridges replied. "But Skye, you know who I'm talking about, you see her every day." When her friend didn't reply to that, she sighed and said, "Think about it okay. It wasn't me, I swear." She was about to leave when she paused and said, "Did the police ask you to do this? They said they'd cleared me before I left Dulles last night."

"I'm sorry Hannah," Skye said after glancing to Castle and Beckett and seeing what she felt there in there expressions. She went to her friend and took her hand telling her, "An eyewitness identified you."

"Reed?" Bridges sneered. When Skye looked startled she sighed and said, "He always hated me for not hiring his cousin for a job at the airline so… he has a reason for identifying me instead of her."

"Can you just say her name?" Castle asked, growing a little annoyed.

"Of course," Bridges said before turning to Skye. "It was Vanessa Curtis."

With that the woman left and Castle and Beckett quickly turned to the investigator, startled to see her looking absolutely shocked.

"So you do know her," Beckett ventured to say.

"Yeah, her office is across the hall from me, she's an investigator too," Skye said, looking and sounding utterly floored at the name of her colleague and her being tied to their case.


	6. A Little Less Fight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The title of this chapter is a lyric from the song A Little Less Conversation written by Mac Davis and Bill Strange, performed by Elvis.

"Hello?" a voice said on the other side of the phone that was on top of Skye's desk.

"Yeah Corey, it's me," the investigator said, leaning towards the phone and sounding a little exhausted.

"What's wrong you talked to Bridges… is it her?" Burke asked.

"Racine didn't tell you everything," Beckett said as Skye was then rubbing her eyes. "According to Bridges she told the detective that she was in DC the whole time frame of the murder."

"Wait, what?" Burke asked, the shock prevalent in his tone.

"Yeah, are you sure she talked to him?" Castle asked.

"Hold on," Burke said. "I'll call him now. But anything else that I can tell him."

"Yes, Vanessa Curtis," Skye said, sounding a little hesitant but continuing to speak. "I know her too; she's an investigator across the hall from me in the building."

"Okay," Burke said. "But why was she misidentified." At Skye's explanation, he whistled and said, "That would explain it. Alright, I'll call and then get back to you."

"Are you calling your co-worker?" Castle asked when Burke had hung up before the investigator started to dial another number.

"No, I need to call my boss," Skye replied.

"Is she going to be there right now? Or does she have another investigation she's working on right now?" Beckett asked her.

"That's what I'm finding out now," Skye said, keeping the phone on speaker as it dialed.

"You know, one thing I just realized isn't Santa Monica its own city? Why is the LAPD looking into it?" Castle asked her.

"Back in 2015 there was a bit of a tussle between the airport and the FAA and they were nearly going to shut it down. But LAX came in and bought it from them," Skye explained. "So the LAPD is claiming jurisdiction since they say the property technically belongs to LA and the SMPD is consultant to the case."

"Then Bridges might have talked to someone from there," Beckett suggested.

"We'll find out when Corey gets back to us," Skye said before someone was talking on the other end.

"Hello?" a man said.

"Doug, it's Skye," she said.

"Did you find something?" the man said quickly.

"I need to ask something," Skye told him. "Is Curtis there?"

"Yeah, she came in," the Chairman replied. "Why?"

"I'll let you know when I see you," Skye replied. "Don't speak to her Doug."

"Alright but I'm going to need to know," the Chairman said a little sternly.

"You will, bye," Skye replied before hanging up. She looked to Castle and Beckett and said, "You'll want to come along?"

"Of course," the latter said before music started to play. "You might want to get that," Beckett said, nodding to the investigator's cell phone on her desk.

"It's Corey," Skye quickly said. She then answered and placing the phone on speaker said, "You talked to him?"

"I did, turns out that a detective from the SaMo force spoke to her," Burke replied.

"And did he fail to note that she wasn't there?" Castle asked.

"His paper was taken away before he could write that down," the detective on the other end explained. "So what Racine got was the statement from Reed, not the correction that Bridges herself made. But I told him what you told me and they're going to head out to speak to Curtis."

"We're on our way," Skye said. She hung up the phone and as she dug into a drawer she told the two, "We don't have much time."

"Can you beat them to the building?" Beckett asked, she and Castle standing up and waiting for her.

"We'll have to try," Skye said. She went with them over to the kitchen and as she threw on a blazer she told Beckett, "Grab the keys."

"Great idea," Castle said as his wife paused and looked at the investigator. "We'll get there a lot faster."

When Skye placed her NTSB pin on the lapel of her jacket, Beckett picked up the keys from the counter, leading the way out to the garage. In the car she drove to the NTSB West headquarters as fast as she legally could, looking around for any sign of the police once they got there. "I think we made it," she said after she had parked.

"Driving like that I should think we did," Skye said, getting out first. She started to run towards the elevator before making herself stop, turning to look back at the two. "Sorry, force of habit," she said when they were close enough to her.

"Working alone?" Castle asked.

"Yeah," Skye said when they stepped into the car that had reached them. When they were walking across the lobby she waved to the secretary before they went to the NTSB elevators. "The good thing is this will delay them a bit," she told them. "Damn it, I forgot to ask Doug when she got in."

"She had the time," Castle replied.

"I know," Skye said as they were going to the express elevator. She remained silent the rest of the way up and once they were at the top floor she took a faster, longer stride over to Chairman's office. "Doug," she said.

"That was fast," the man said, standing up.

"This is Richard Castle, Kate Beckett," Skye told him as he walked over to them. "Guys, Doug Feith, NTSB West Chairman."

"She's in," Feith told them. "Are they coming?"

"They are, shortly," Beckett told him as they went to the door across from Skye's

"Let me," Feith said, stopping Skye from knocking.

"Doug, is… everything okay?" a woman said when she'd opened the door, looking at everyone.

"Of course, Skye just wants to speak to you," Feith replied. "Can we come in?"

"Sure," the woman replied.

After introducing Castle and Beckett quickly Skye said to them, "This is Vanessa Curtis, another IIC here. I understand you were recently in DC?"

"I was, you… I keep forgetting, you were in Seattle," Curtis said, nodding to Castle and Beckett.

"You were there for work?" Beckett asked.

"No, I was there for a vacation," Curtis said. "I was staying with my mother… are you interrogating me."

"Vanessa," Feith began.

"No, no, what have I been accused of doing?" Curtis asked.

Not too surprised when everyone looked to her then, Beckett explained the fact that she'd been seen with the victim in the time of window of his poisoning. "You were falsely identified as Hannah Bridges-" she was then saying.

"Who would do that?" Curtis asked angrily.

"Reed," Feith said. When Skye, Castle and Beckett looked at him in surprise he shrugged and told them, "It was the most obvious choice, everyone in the industry knows he tries to sabotage her at every opportunity."

"It was him," Skye said. "But looking at the footage at Cleveland and then Iowa-" she then continued before she was interrupted.

"No, no, I never left DC," Curtis told them in annoyance. "I was there until yesterday afternoon, at about three I had to be at Dulles for my flight." She then took a deep breath and told them, "But I was there, at the airport when Brent was leaving."

"Then you did see him," Castle said.

"I did, I went to talk to him because he wanted me to see his plane," Curtis said. "Yours, he said he'd fixed up the interior a little," she told Skye.

"You got in the plane," Beckett replied, remembering the footage they'd seen.

"I did but he drove me out of the hangar to the office where I was heading and someone else got in," Curtis replied.

"Did you see who?" Skye asked.

"It was a woman and she was blonde but besides that… I'm sorry, I was going inside the building, all I got was a brief glimpse of her going around the rear of the plane to get in," Curtis said, shaking her head.

"Damn it," Feith said as his phone started to ring. "That's them, hurry," he instructed Skye before he left, closing the door behind him.

"Do you have any idea where he was before you saw him in that hangar?" the investigator asked him.

"Yeah he said he'd been at the BA lounge, they allowed him to take some tomato juice for the flight," Curtis said with a nod.

"When you saw him was he carrying bottles of it?" Beckett inquired.

"Three of them, already filled," Curtis said with a slight nod.

"Skye, your office, now," Feith said, nearly barking that out as an order as he stuck his head into the room.

"Thank you Vanessa, told them what you told us," Skye said, squeezing her hand. "Tell them to contact your mother…" She had to trail off as Beckett took her other hand and was pulling her but she quickly recovered and said, "And tell them that he was instructed to drive you away from the security camera." She let Beckett then lead her across the hall to her office, closing the door behind them and leaning against it.

"I had the same idea," Castle told her in a low voice.

"Me too," Beckett replied. "Hopefully they won't figure out that you told her that."

Shaking her head, Skye said as she walked into the room more, "I know Vanessa; she won't let them know that since it'll save her ass." She sighed and went to the window where Castle was looking out saying, "I need to call BA but not here."

"They're here," Beckett whispered, having stayed by the door.

Hearing the loud banging of a fist on a door, Castle looked at Skye, seeing she was holding herself tense still looking out the window. "Okay?" he asked in a low tone.

"Fine," Skye replied, smiling weakly for a moment up at him before Beckett came over to them. "They're gone?"

"They are, she went peacefully," she replied. "That'll help-"

"We're going to catch hell for this Skye," Feith said, knocking and coming inside.

"No, since she's not the killer," the investigator told her boss as he walked over to them. "But we need to go."

"Why?" Feith asked in surprise. "You're not going to follow her to the station they're taking her to are you?"

"No, I need to call the BA lounge and security," Skye said, shaking her head simply. "I can't do it here and get you in trouble."

"Right, then be careful," Feith said, placing his hand on her shoulder. "You know if you need our help…"

"Your help Doug, I'm not getting anyone else involved in this," Skye said with a smile that was slightly more genuine. She then frowned and said, "My mail-"

"I'll handle it," Feith replied with a nod. "Go; find the bastard that did this to Brent."

After the Chairman had called the secretary on the ground floor and was told that the police had left, Skye led the way out of her office and to the elevators. Leaning against the elevator wall as they were going down she said, "I'll have to call Burke, you mind driving again?" directing that to Beckett.

"It's not a problem but should you tell him now?" she asked her.

"You think I should wait," Skye replied, a little startled at that.

Since they had reached the atrium of the NTSB, Castle had to wait until they were going down to the building's lobby before he could tell her, "Wait until after the police have her alibi before you tell him that you got it before them."

Skye wanted to protest that but she saw that they were both thinking it would put her friend in less trouble and she nodded. "I can make my calls before this but I hope they don't mention to Racine that I got to the security footage before them," she said, leaning her head back before the elevator stopped.

Since they had gotten to the lobby neither Castle nor Beckett could respond to that and they continued to stay silent until they had reached the investigator's car, the latter speaking first.

"They would do that for you?" Beckett asked.

"I know them, connections again," Skye replied. She started to take out her cell phone from her pocket but then paused in getting the number at Dulles.

"What's wrong?" Castle asked, watching her.

"My phone at home is far more secure," Skye replied simply. "I'll wait until we get back there."

At that, Beckett pressed on the gas a little more, making her way back to Lincoln and navigating her way through some early afternoon traffic before they were back at the investigator's domicile. "Is there anything we can do for you?" she asked when they were inside the house, the two dogs running out and barking before seeing it was them.

"If you can fill in the board but I want you to hear this conversation of course," Skye told them. When they were in her office, she took the pin off her blazer and set it on the desk before tossing her jacket to the chair. She dialed a number after glancing at her computer screen and looked at Castle and Beckett on the other side who were watching her. "I seem to be doing a lot of the talking," she told them. "But you are helping me out."

Beckett wanted to comment on that but she felt her husband's hand on her back and she turned to him, watching him go over to the murder board, starting to write on it. She wanted to make an observation about that to him but someone was answering the phone on the other end so she turned her attention to Skye as the woman began to speak.

"Hello Gordon," she was saying as she glanced over at Castle who was making note of the interviews with both Bridges and Curtis.

"Skye are you out here in DC, didn't you need to be in LA for that flight coming up?" the man said on the other end.

"I'm back in LA," Skye replied. "But I'm trying to find out if a friend of mine was at your lounge back on Friday."

"Oh yeah?" Gordon replied.

"Brent Figueroa," Skye said, glancing at Beckett who nodded to her. "Listen, a friend of mine is with me, two of them," she said in a rush. "But yes, we're trying to find him."

"Well Friday I wasn't here, Tony was, I can ask him," Gordon replied. "Hold on a second, I'll be right back I have to find him somewhere here."

"So we need to find that woman obviously," Castle replied. "The fact that three women all look the same is pretty significant."

"You're thinking that was on purpose," Beckett said, going over to him.

"You don't?" Castle said.

"No I do," Beckett replied. "I'm just wondering how this woman got the poison into the bottles."

"If they went straight to him when did she have the time," Skye stated.

"Exactly," Beckett replied. "You might want to ask Tony," she was able to say just before the music on the phone was cut off.

"Skye?" Gordon said on the other end.

"I'm here," she replied quickly as she watched Castle and Beckett leaning against the other side of the desk.

"Okay, I got a hold of Tony," Gordon replied. "You remember him right?"

"Of course, Mr. Wilding," Skye replied. "You saw him there?"

"I did," an older man then said on the other end.

"What was he doing in the lounge?" Beckett asked.

"He was talking to a woman the entire time," Wilding replied.

"Was she blonde?" Skye asked.

"She was but I never saw her face, so I don't know who she was," Wilding replied.

Sounding hesitant Skye then asked, "They weren't in the blind spot were they?"

There was a moment of silence from the other end before the man said, "Yeah, afraid so, they weren't doing anything though."

"The bottles," Castle whispered into his wife's ear.

Squeezing his arm to let him know she'd already thought of that, Beckett then said, "Did he ever ask you for any tomato juice?"

"Oh sure, I was behind the bar so he asked me," Wilding replied.

"What was the woman doing then?" Castle couldn't help asking then.

"Another friend of mine," Skye told the man in a rush.

"I see, well, she went over to the bar with him-" Wilding started to say.

"Would you have been able to see them via a security camera?" Castle asked.

"Sure do you want to ask Gordon for that?" Wilding replied.

"Not yet, continue with what you were saying," Skye urged him.

"Right, so she came over and while I was getting them filled at the other end I tried to talk to her a little bit before Brent came back from the restroom," Wilding said. There was silence on the other end and he said, "Hello?"

"Sorry, you're saying he left the woman alone with those bottles?" Skye said. "And you spoke to her; I thought you said you hadn't even seen her?"

"I spoke to her for a second," Wilding said, sounding slightly miffed at that. "She didn't want anything to do with me and she kept her head turned away towards the bathrooms before leaning back on the bar her back to me. I set the bottles behind her and she thanked me; in a whisper. I had an order to tend to, so by the time I went back to where they were they were gone."

"About what time was this?" Beckett asked.

"Around nine… a quarter to ten I would say," Wilding replied. "Is that it?"

Since the man was becoming irritable, Skye let him go and as soon as Gordon came on she told him, "Thank you so much my friend, I appreciate this, but I need a favor this second."

"Security," the man replied. At Skye's yes he said, "You know you're not a detective right?"

"I know but he was a colleague and a friend," Skye replied, clenching her teeth for a moment.

"Who smuggled drugs," Gordon then said. When his friend snapped out his name he sighed and said, "Just take care of yourself Skye. I'll transfer you over to them now."

Sighing as music started to play, the investigator said to her friend, "I was waiting for people to question me about that."

"It doesn't matter, he still deserves justice," Beckett replied. When her husband took her hand she shook her head, knowing that he was aware of her thinking of her hunt to find Royce's killer. She then turned to the investigator who'd sat down and asked, "You okay?"

"I still want to see my plane," Skye said, nearly gritting her teeth at that.

Beckett shared a look with her husband at the tone of the investigator's voice but before either of them could say anything her phone started to ring on the desk and she saw that it was the woman's wife.

"Get that," Skye whispered as someone had taken her off hold on her desk phone.

"Take that," Beckett said, handing the phone to her husband. She watched him go outside the office; still within view of her; and she then turned her attention back to Skye.

"Yes, you can? Great, I'll have to thank you for that Nige," the woman was saying, having taken the phone off of speaker. "Bye." Looking at Beckett she was smiling and was about to speak before she glanced past her shoulder. "Wait! I can talk to her now! Mary, wait!" she nearly yelled as she ran to Castle.

"She's still on," he said quickly, handing over the phone as he could tell from her tone that she was desperate.

"Watch my e-mail, they'll be sending the footage," Skye told him and Beckett before she left to go to the kitchen to talk to her wife in privacy.

"Sweet," Castle said.

"What, her wanting to speak with her? She could just be telling her what we figured out," Beckett said, not looking at him as she looked at the screen of the investigator's computer.

"Not when she leaves the room so we can't hear," Castle replied, knowing his wife was teasing him. He went around the desk to her and asked, "Did it come yet?"

"She just got off the phone with the guy, so-" Beckett started to said, turning to him when he cut her off with a kiss. She was a little startled at that before she recovered and was soon kissing him back as hard as she could. It was a simple kiss, though one where they both lingered until they had to breathe. "Warn me," she said, touching her lower lip carefully before she glanced back at the computer.

"Couldn't help it, I couldn't even warn myself," Castle commented before he watched her sit. "At least I had good timing," he said as she was opening an e-mail.

"Did it get here?" Skye asked as she came inside.

"Yeah, here," Beckett said, getting out of the way of her quickly.

"You'll stay to watch," Skye said as she pressed play on the clip that was attached to the e-mail.

As the three looked on there was footage from three different cameras but in each one the woman that was with the victim seemed to always be aware of where they were, her head turned slightly away. But there was a brief glimpse of her on the footage outside the lounge and Castle and Beckett watched Skye pause it, thinking she would print out the picture or try to clean up the shot to get a better look at the woman.

Sucking in a breath of air, Skye told them to their surprise, "I know that woman going up to them she's an employee with BA, she runs the office there in the airport, Maya Emerick." She played the footage and watched as the woman she mentioned spoke to the two before walking off screen.

"They're fighting," Castle replied as the vic and the killer started to do so as soon as Emerick was gone.

"They split up and then…" Beckett said when the clip abruptly ended.

"Okay, so… I need to make another call," Skye said, standing up then and reaching for the phone. "We do in fact," and with that she started to dial a number as quickly as she could while the other two looked on.

"Hello?" a woman with a light British accent said.

"Maya? It's-" Skye started to say.

"Skye! I was just thinking of you, I was in a meeting about the 747x that'll be coming in soon before it makes its way to you," Emerick replied. "And I had heard about your friend, Brent Figueroa." She paused for a moment and before her friend could say anything said, "Is that why you're calling?"

"I'm afraid it is," Skye said somberly. "I'm looking into this for his wife's sake."

"She doesn't trust the LAPD?" Emerick asked.

"Not exactly but I have two people with me, they consult with the local police at their home on cases," Skye said before nodding to Beckett.

"I'm Kate Beckett, Ms. Emerick," she said. "And we've been retracing the steps of the victim before he started flying in his plane. And looking at some security footage of the British Airways first class lounge just before we called you, we saw you talking to him and a possible suspect."

"This was Friday?" Emerick asked on the other end after there was a pause.

"It was," Skye replied. "The two were coming out of the lounge."

"Yes, I remember," Emerick replied. "They were going quickly and the woman walked right past me, I'm sure Mr. Figueroa would have done the same if I hadn't asked him about you."  
"Do you remember what the woman looked like?" Castle asked.

"That's Richard Castle," Skye told her friend. "He's married to Kate."

"Oh, of course. Well, in answer to your question," Emerick said. "I couldn't really see her face, she had very big sunglasses on and her nose was all taped up. I was going to ask if she was alright but I'm glad I didn't. As soon as I let Mr. Figueroa go he and the woman got into a huge fight."  
"About what, or could you not hear?" Beckett asked her.

"Oh no, I heard," Emerick said. "And they were talking about missing a schedule."

"Did he ever call her by name?" Castle then said.

"I think Viola or Violet," Emerick said. "And she snapped at him not to call her that until they were alone. I would have taken notice of that but I thought that it might have been a pet name or something."

"Is that all you can tell us?" Skye asked.

"Sorry, that's all, I wasn't with them for that long," Emerick said.

"Don't worry, that's more than enough," Skye said. "Listen the LAPD will likely be calling you, if they ask you outright go ahead and tell them we talked to you. But if not please don't bring it up."  
"I won't, good luck Skye," Emerick replied.

Thanking her friend and hanging up, Skye looked down at her desktop for a moment and then looked at Castle and Beckett. "Another phone call," she told them, that time going for her cell phone.

Raising her eyebrows slightly when she realized the woman had called her wife, Beckett wondered for a moment if she and Castle should go, when Skye grabbed her arm. Shooting her a confused look she soon had her answer as to whether or not the conversation was a private one when the investigator put the phone to speaker.

"So why did you call? And if it's for the case hurry, the girls are going to be out any second," Mary was saying as Skye set her phone down on the desk.

"I talked with Maya Emerick," she told her wife quickly. And with that she explained the security footage they'd seen and what the woman had told them. "So what we need to know," Skye said. "Is if you have any patients called Viola or Violet."

"Rose-" Mary started to say sternly to her wife.

"We need to know the name at least," Skye replied, glancing at Castle and Beckett and seeing that the two looked a little uncomfortable.

"I still can't do that," Mary replied.

"If she's a killer-" Skye began.

"You're not the police," Mary said simply.

"We're close enough," Castle said. He looked at Beckett when she hit his chest with the back of her hand and then quickly said an apology when he realized how that had sounded.

"I can't divulge that Skye, you know that," Mary replied.

Sighing, Skye then said, "Then you can tell us this, did you ever have a past patient with either of those names?" There was such a long moment of silence that she was going to speak when Mary beat her to it.

"My past patients are on my computer. Search but please don't tell anyone you're doing this okay?" the woman said.

"Thank you love, I'll see you and the girls later," Skye said. She then picked up the phone and walked over to her wife's desk saying, "I love you."

When the investigator had hung up, Beckett said, "I hate to say this but don't you need to tell Detective Burke about Emerick?"

"Do you mind calling him for me for that?" Skye asked.

"Sure," Beckett said, taking the cell phone the woman handed her. She saw that the screen was on her contacts and she found Burke's name easily.

"Detective Burke," the man said after Beckett had set the number to dial.

"Corey, you're not working, cut that out," Skye replied, calling out from where she was sitting behind Mary's desk, on the computer.

"What'd you find Skye?" the detective asked when he heard her voice.

"Kate will explain," she said quickly. "I'm a little busy."

Since his wife could easily tell the man what they'd found out, Castle went to the board and filled it in a little more, setting a time for the bottles being poisoned and writing down the description of the woman with the victim. He nearly jumped when Burke barked out a curse and looked over at the phone with Skye.

"I think you need to stop," the detective said.

"Hold on Corey," Skye started to say.

"No, no, this is getting way too risky for you," Burke replied. "They're hiding their identities; they know where security cameras are-"

"They might not," Beckett interrupted him. When the man asked her what she was talking about she said, "I don't think we can get cameras from all over Dulles, if Detective Racine looks through them…"

"And what good is it going to do them that they can't even get a good shot of her face?" Burke asked.

"Corey," Skye said simply. "It is a start you know." At the detective's sigh she then said, "Leave us to look into what we can. Should it get to be too much, I promise you I'll leave it for Racine."

"Alright I'll let him know what you told me," Burke said. "In the meantime, I was going to tell you that the FBI discovered something."

"Like what?" Skye asked, sharing a surprised look with Castle and Beckett.

"That while Brent was flying the drugs, he wasn't aware of the fact that they were there," Burke replied.

"How is that possible?" Castle said as he glanced at the other two.

"They ended up catching the real smuggler," Burke said simply. "I was with Racine-"

"Did he drag you into the case?" Skye interrupted.

"No, I requested my captain to allow me to join the case," Burke replied.

"Your vacation?" Skye said.

"I'll take the rest of it after the case. Sylvia said she'd help me out there," Burke said. "She owed me. Anyways, I was with Racine when the agent came to us and explained that Brent's friend Dominick Harmon was using him to smuggle his cocaine to DC."

"They got that direct from Harmon?" Beckett inquired.

"They did, of course he's not to leader of the group, there's a cartel that used him," Burke said. "He's guessing it's because he knew Brent and he knew how to fly."

"And had his own plane," Skye said grimly. At Burke's affirmation of that she said, "How did that work exactly? How could he not know he had cocaine? Brent would have known the weight was different."

"Harmon took suitcases," Burke said. "And he said Brent must have thought they were the reason for the weight. And as for how it worked, Harmon was able to get into the airport at night and break into the plane to build the compartments. Though he had the help of the cartel of course."

"Of course," Skye breathed out. "How exactly did they find Harmon?"

"He came to them, he's asking to go into hiding," Burke replied. "I think the FBI was close to finding out Burke hadn't ordered the compartments made; they were sloppily done."

Gritting her teeth together at the sound of that, the investigator asked, "What about my plane."

"I'm afraid it's evidence for both cases now Skye, I'm sorry," Burke said, his tone apologetic.

"Did you ask if they'd keep it for that?" Beckett asked, looking over at the investigator.

"I did," Burk replied. "And if I could have, I would have gotten it back for you."

"Thank you Corey, go talk to Racine, let him know what we have. Tell him he needs to try and track Brent through the airport," Skye said then, sounding a little saddened.

"And you should talk to Harmon about any women in the cartel that look like the woman who was with the vic in Dulles," Beckett said.

"I will, take care Skye," Burke replied before hanging up.

"Okay?" Beckett asked, putting her hand on the investigator's shoulder as soon as she'd hung up.

"No… I…" Skye said before she cut herself off by shaking her head roughly. "I'm fine, I need to look at this list," she said then, looking at the screen.

"Any Violas or Violets?" Castle asked, sharing a glance with Beckett before they turned back to her.

"Two Violets," Skye mused as the names came up. "Violet Gill and Violet Fuller."

"Any pictures?" Beckett said.

"No, it's just a list. I'll have to talk to Mary when-" Skye began. The dogs started to bark out in the kitchen, and a sudden smile of relief appeared on her face as she jumped up from the chair and rushed out of the office.

"I was getting worried," Beckett commented to her husband.

"I know, me too," Castle said. "But you know what I'm wondering?"

Beckett didn't reply to that, looking at the computer screen for a moment before she realized her husband wasn't continuing. "What, that was an actual question?" she said, turning to him.

"I thought you'd want to hear," Castle replied. "So the FBI is investigating the cartel."

"They were investigating Figueroa," Beckett corrected him.

"They probably thought he was part of the cartel," Castle said simply. "And since he wasn't, the cartel sends a femme fatale to lure him into his death, leaving them free to continue their smuggling operation as the FBI was looking at him."

"But it was Harmon they needed to kill, not Brent, since he had no idea," Beckett reminded her husband.

"Yeah," Castle said with a slight grimace. "I thought you'd find that pretty weak. But there's one thing that doesn't work with the cartel being the reason for his death."

"The letters," he and Beckett said at the same time.

"So obviously it has nothing to do with the drug smuggling," she then continued. "It's Skye."

"Or Mary," Castle added. He looked at his wife and seeing her slightly frustrated look said, "Why don't we head out and get a drink, take a minute to clear our heads?"

"Yeah, that-" Beckett started to say when she jumped at her phone vibrating in her pocket.

"What?" Castle asked, seeing the smile spreading over his wife's face as she was looking down at the screen of her phone.

"It's Julia," Beckett told him. "She wants to know if it's alright for my dad to take them to the ceramic studio."

"She's asking permission for that?" Castle asked, amusement in his tone.

"She is, my dad told her to ask us," Beckett said. She texted back that it was fine, and then said, "They should have a great time over there."

"They're going pretty late aren't they?" Castle said, looking at his watch.

"They are but my dad's going to take them out to dinner again," Beckett said, reading the next text that she got after that. Shaking her head, though she was smiling, she said, "At the _Studebaker_ …"  
"Julia," the two said at the same time.

"Though that was her suggestion, not a demand love," Castle was quick to continue.

"Oh don't worry, I didn't think she made my dad say he'd take them to dinner," Beckett replied, texting back that it was alright for them to go to both places. "She wouldn't do that. But I bet you anything he wasn't sure about that place after taking them to the French restaurant last night."

"Mother would not have bothered to ask," Castle said. "Well, not at least until they were already at the place," he said after thinking for a moment.

"She would," Beckett said absently, waiting for a text. " _We'll talk to you later, love you Mommy, Daddy_ ," she read to him. "So their night is set."

Castle went over to her then and wrapped his arm around her, bringing her close to him. "They'll have fun," he murmured, his lips against her forehead.

"Oh, I have no concerns about that," Beckett said with a slight smile on her face. She then leaned back to look into her husband's eyes and said, "I love them."

"Me too, we were lucky," Castle replied. "Like… winning the lottery lucky having them as our daughters." At his wife's soft laughter he smiled and then leaned down, taking her lips with his gently. He would have made it deeper but with the sound of Skye and Mary's twins laughing in the kitchen reaching them he was reminded that they weren't in their home. He parted from Beckett with a sigh and said, "Something about this office makes me want to kiss you. Atmosphere?"

"Of what?" Beckett asked, looking at him questioningly.

"No clue, let's go before Skye wonders what we're doing in here exactly," Castle said, reluctantly letting his wife go to follow her out to the kitchen.

"Oh, hello," Mary said, seeing the two coming to where she and her wife were standing at the kitchen table. "How's it going?"  
"Pretty well," Beckett said, looking at Skye in confusion.

" _I told her a little_ ," the investigator said in Russian.

" _Including the names_?" Beckett asked in the same language.

"Not yet," Skye replied, seeing Castle, Mary and the twins were looking at them both with perplexed expressions on their faces.

"What is it Mummy?" Kathleen asked.

"Sorry girls, we had to talk about something at my office," Skye replied. "Go ahead back to your homework." When the two nodded she drew Mary into the kitchen, Castle and Beckett quickly following them before they spoke in whispers to tell her wife what they'd learned and what she hadn't told her yet.

"So you do think it's one of my patients now?" Mary asked after remaining silent for a few moments before speaking.

"It's likely but we'd have to see pictures of them," Skye said. When her wife sighed she said, "You have their pictures in their files you still have at your office."

"And what do you want me to do? Go there and get them?" Mary said.

"They're past patients; would you get in trouble for taking pictures of those photographs with your phone?" Castle said.

Mary looked thoughtful before she said, "I suppose not, you'll be alright watching-" she started to say.

The text alert sound on Skye's phone interrupted their conversation and she took the cell phone from her pocket before she read the message. "I don't believe it," she breathed.

"What?" Castle asked, starting to lean over to the phone.

"It's from Burke, he managed to convince Racine to let us go see the plane," Skye said.

"Are you sure?" Castle asked a little hesitantly.

Skye typed out a text message then and waited until she had an answer before saying, "He is."

"The girls Skye," Mary said gently. "Your dad?"

"Can you call him?" the investigator asked her wife.

"I will, go and as soon as he gets here I'll go to the office," Mary replied.

"Thank you love," Skye said, hugging her tightly. Letting her go she nodded to Castle and Beckett who were quick to follow her out towards the garage.

"Did he mention why exactly Racine wants us there?" Beckett asked Skye as she was driving onto the street.

"No but I'm sure he'll tell us when we reach him," the investigator said before pausing. "To be honest I have no idea why they'd want me to look at the plane."

Beckett looked back at her husband, who shrugged, and she turned back to watch as Skye drove them through some residential streets before getting to a larger one. "That's it?" she asked, soon seeing the sign for the Santa Monica Airport.

"It is and I know, not much to look at, but it was a second home for me for a time," Skye replied.

"Before Mary?" Castle inquired.

"Before Mary," Skye echoed with a slight nod before she was parking her car, watching the suited man walking over to her. "FBI?" she commented when he was close enough to her for him to hear.

"Agent Neal," the man replied. "Investigator McDouglas?" At Skye's nod he said, "These are your consultants?"

"Mr. Castle, Ms. Beckett, can I see Detectives Racine and Burke now?" Skye asked.

At that, Neal simply nodded and turned, leading them through a building and out to the hangars saying, "We're not sure why they insisted we let you take a look at the plane, but they said you'd help our cases."

"Theirs and yours," Beckett commented. She wasn't too surprised when the agent didn't respond to that and she saw the reason for that as they stepped at the entrance of a hangar.

Instantly, Skye started to walk faster towards the damaged airplane saying, "Why?"

Turning from where they were standing at the pilot's door which was open, Detective Racine held back Burke and said, "I decided it was time to bring you in; the three of you."  
"And you have permission for that?" Skye said as she brushed in between the two men, taking the gloves from Burke that he held in his hand.

Beckett reached over to her husband, placing her hand on his arm to have him stop in front of the two detectives. She then took the other pair of gloves that Burke was holding and turned to Racine. "Obviously he does Skye," looking into the man's eyes as she pulled on the gloves.

"You make a good point," the investigator said, sitting on the plastic covered seat inside. She looked down at the bottle holder and said, "When was this placed here?"

"According to Reed he had it put for him and his wife on their longer flights," Burke said as Beckett got into the seat on the other side of the plane.

"Four bottles," she murmured to the investigator.

"Yes and there's nothing wrong with the plane," Skye said looking around the cabin quickly. "So why are we here?"

"You got us a break for our case," Racine replied, looking up at Skye. "The name Viola, Mr. Figueroa knew a woman by that name. And she fits the description of the woman at the airport."

"I think we've seen enough here Beckett," Skye told her friend.

"We have, excuse us," she said, stepping down from the plane and pulling the detective with her until Skye joined them.

"Have you told him about the letters and picture?" the investigator asked the detective.

"I did, he's going to ask you for them," Burke replied, nodding over to Racine.

"Hold on," Skye said, stepping away from them.

"She's not going to be able to keep the names she got," Castle said in a low voice to Beckett as they watched Skye talking on the phone.

"Better she doesn't, if she wants to stay with the case," Beckett told her husband wryly.

"I know," Castle said. "The case did get solved didn't it?"

Rolling her eyes though there was a slight smile on her lips, Beckett said to Skye who she was walking back to them, "Mary?"

"You know already," the investigator replied. "She'll stop at my office and Doug will give her the letters and picture."

"I was almost unsure of letting you assist us with the rest of this case," Racine said, having come over with Burke and hearing that. "Since you kept the letters and picture quiet."

"I didn't," Skye said firmly. "The LAPD did take a look at them."

"I told you," Burke said with a sigh. "Alright, so while we wait for your wife to bring over the letters and picture-"

"There's something else," Skye interrupted him. "I spoke with the woman outside the BA Lounge."

"Burke told me," Racine said, nodding. "I have an officer speaking with her now."

"And she told me it sounded like the man called her Viola or Violet," Skye continued simply without commenting on that. "And my wife had two former patients named Violet, Gill and Fuller."

"We'll make a note of that," Racine replied. "Your wife, you said she'd coming here-"

"She has their pictures, she's bringing them so we can see if it's the woman from the security footage," Skye told them.

"We're finishing up so she can take a closer look at her plane as long as she keeps those gloves on," Racine told Burke. "While we wait for her wife to get here."

Beckett, with Castle behind her, waited with Skye before Burke could come over to them and she asked, "You don't want to wait for Mary?"

"Why would I need to? To look at the plane?" Skye asked, turning to her.

Wanting to say what she'd been able to discern after watching the woman, Beckett didn't have the chance as Skye merely turned away and strode back to the plane as CSU had left. She shook her head at Castle's rushed question of what was wrong and instead walked inside with him where they nearly ran into the investigator as she'd come to a halt, looking at the Piper again.

"Skye…" Castle started to say before she took off. He glanced at his wife but when she didn't move he remained where he was, watching her go to the plane as well.

"Stay," Beckett said in a whisper to her husband, holding her hand out to him as Skye was just standing in front of the plane once she reached it.

"Yeah, I will," Castle replied. He heard the door opening and said, "She's-"

"Skye!" Burke called before Castle could finish.

"We're fine Burke," the investigator nearly yelled back to him, anger infusing her tone. "We're wearing gloves like he said. Go."

Starting to take a step forward, the detective was going to say something when he said, "Alright, I'll be right outside if you need me."

"We'll let you know," Castle said.

As soon as the door closed behind Burke, Beckett turned to Skye, watching her step up into the cabin, pulling something down from visor above the pilot's seat and looking back at what she guessed were the compartments for the drugs before stepping down. "Skye, wait," she said, seeing the anguish on the woman's face when she turned.

"Don't," the woman said, shaking her head as she looked at her.

Seeing Beckett trying to hold Skye in place, Castle rushed over and joined his wife in trying to keep her away from a table with some tools on it in front of the plane. "You can't, they'll arrest you," he said, knowing somehow that Skye meant to throw something at the plane in the anger that had replaced the distress in her expression.

"It doesn't matter!" the investigator yelled at them as she reached the table before being pulled away. "What does it all matter, they all die in the end!"

"Don't do this," Beckett said, suddenly wrapping her arms around the woman in a hug. Not so much to show her sympathy but more to calm her down though it didn't seem to work as Skye nearly shoved her away if she hadn't been holding tightly. "They don't Skye, your wife, your daughters, think of them," she then said quickly. "You have them."

"What I have is always the same," the woman replied, going still as she looked to Beckett and Castle. The second she was let go she tried to throw a wrench she'd gotten a hold of, but her hand was grabbed by them and she looked back in anger.

"Rose! Rose what the hell are you doing!" Mary said as she ran into the hangar.

"Mary… don't…" Skye said, turning to her. "He was still…"

Stepping back hurriedly, Beckett and Castle watched her show the photograph of the investigator with Figueroa and Feith to her wife before she seemed to collapse in her arms. "She-" Beckett started to say.

"It's alright, I can take care of her," Mary said, cupping the back of Skye's head. "I've already talked to them outside. I'll take her home with me."

Watching them leaving, Beckett turned to her husband and at the same time they looked at the plane before Castle picked up the wrench while she took off her gloves. With the tool back they left the hangar together, ignoring the agents, detectives and officers as Skye and Mary were still visible, both of them leaning against one another as Castle and Beckett were soon doing surreptitiously for a moment. With that reassurance they got back into the car and headed back to the McDouglas home, quiet as they could only imagine what their friends were going through in the car ahead of them.


	7. All I Have

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The title of this chapter is a lyric from the song Photograph written by Ringo Starr and George Harrison and performed by Ringo, from his album Ringo.

Listening to the voices upstairs coming closer, Beckett looked over at Marie and Kathleen who were sitting at the kitchen table. From seeing Julia do the same numerous times she knew the twins weren't really working on their homework though they were making an effort to make it seem like they were. She stood up, about to speak to them, when she heard the two voices coming closer.

"Girls?" Mary said, coming into the kitchen with Skye's dad. "You can go up; your mother wants to see you." When the two had run for the stairs at the same time she turned to Hayden and said, "Are you sure you don't want to stay?"

"I'm no good to her when she's like this, it's always been you lass," the man said. "But if she should want me here this time around, please call."  
"I will," Mary said. She then turned to Castle and Beckett, telling them, "I'll be right back."

When they were alone, Castle turned to his wife and said, "Any idea?"

"The crash, when she was a child," Beckett said. At her husband's slightly startled expression she said, "You didn't think it was that?"

"Well, more her friend's murder," Castle said. "But now that you mention the crash… maybe."

"You're both right, in a way," Mary said, coming back inside them. She smiled briefly at Castle's head whipping around to look at her and said, "You know that crash happened in May right?"

"She was in Seattle during that," Beckett commented.

"And around that time I need to get her through the memories of that night," Mary replied, filling a tea kettle with water. "But what's made it worse is the people she's lost, friends."

"Does she have a mental breakdown?" Castle asked in concern.

"No," Mary replied simply before setting the kettle on the stove. "What happens is that she pushes herself too far emotionally and it becomes overwhelming. I have to bring her back to where she normally is. You know I have to thank you."

"Why?" Beckett said, startled at that since the woman had been speaking to her.

"Because of what you told her, to remember me and the girls," Mary said, as she leaned against the counter. "That's what I always tell her. But I couldn't last month because I wasn't with her; I spoke with her over the phone on the anniversary of course but…"

"It wasn't enough," Castle finished.

Mary nodded and said, "She was like that when we first started out."

"It hasn't hurt your relationship has it?" Beckett asked in concern.

"Oh no, you see the two of us have a role we fulfill," Mary commented, going over to a cabinet and getting a box with tea. "She's the stronger one; I will look to her for support. But that's not set in stone, if she needs me I'm there for her. And not for something big like this but any time she needs me. So since we're not looking to one another for one thing, that helps." She then smiled briefly as she filled a tea strainer and said, "That and the fact we're in love with each other still."

Beckett was about to speak to comment on that when the kettle started to whistle and Mary was busy getting the leaves in the water. When she had finished doing that and was waiting for the tea to steep she said, "Is she finished with the investigation?"

"No because she's not going to give up so easily," Mary replied, getting mugs. "And that's where you need to go in Kate."

"Me?" Beckett asked.

"Before I got her dad, she was talking about how you two had helped her and she wanted to continue with your help," Mary said. "But I'm thinking that you're able to connect to her easier… sorry," she continued, directing the apology to Castle.

"It's fine," he said hurriedly.

"So if you could, I would appreciate it if you talked to her," Mary then said to Beckett.

"About the case," she said.

"About whatever she wants to speak about," Mary said. "She's better now though she won't push you away; or try to. She mentioned she felt guilty about that. But let her direct the conversation alright?"

"Sure," Beckett said, watching with her husband as Mary got a tray ready to go upstairs.

"Come on," the woman said.

"I… uh… I'll wait here?" Castle suggested hesitantly.

"Come up, in case she wants to talk to all of us in the end," Mary replied.

"What about your girls," Beckett stated as they started up the stairs.

"I'll take them into one of their rooms," Mary said, leading the way down the hall until they reached the door to the master bedroom. She knocked softly before opening it and stepped inside saying, "Love?" in surprise.

Looking through the doorway, Castle and Beckett saw that Skye was sitting with her daughters on the couch in between two windows, her arms around them both. They shared a look and seemed to convey to one another that they were going to wait to go inside the room.

"I brought some tea," Mary was saying, setting the tray on top of a dresser. "Girls come on and show me how things went with your homework," she told the twins, holding her hands out to them.

"Go ahead you two," Skye said before she kissed their temples. She smiled faintly when they hugged her tightly before going to their mother and she looked up as Beckett stepped inside, standing just the doorway. "So… should I pour us tea?" she asked as she looked past her friend to see her wife closing the door after them.

"I can do it," Beckett replied simply before going over to the tray. She started to get the tea into the mugs saying, "How do you like it?" before turning and nearly jumping as the woman was suddenly next to her.

"Thank you," Skye replied before she put some honey into the tea and then went back to sit on the couch again, looking ahead of her as she blew gently on the liquid.

Sitting on the other side of the couch, Beckett watched her closely, remembering Mary's request that she let Skye lead the conversation. She felt a little awkward doing that though and she turned her attention to the Earl Grey in her mug.

"Mary spoke with you I would guess," Skye said suddenly. When Beckett looked at her she attempted to smile though she couldn't quite do so. "She told you what I go through around May?"

"She did," Beckett said carefully, lowering her mug.

"Then you should know I don't want to leave this case to Racine," Skye replied. "I can't leave Brent like that, now when we're close."

Beckett wanted to mention the case then but decided to hold off for the moment and instead said, "I understand."

Skye looked up at her and said, "Your mother?"

Nodding; as she'd told the investigator about her mother the year before when the McDouglases had been in the Hamptons for vacation; Beckett replied, "Just be careful that you don't forget."

Smiling, Skye said, "Yes, my family, I know." She then frowned a little and said, "Before the girls came up I texted Corey, he's on his way."

"So we're going back to the case?" Beckett asked.

"We need to," Skye replied. She sipped at her tea and then sighed saying, "I hope they've looked at the two women Mary told them about." When there was silence she groaned saying, "I don't know why Mary asked you to come inside."  
"I think she thought you were still feeling the effects of what happened earlier," Beckett said.

"I feel better now," Skye said, standing up then. "Come on, I'll tell Mary we're getting back to work and check on the girls too." She had her hand on the doorknob before she asked, "What happened to your husband?"

"He's waiting," Beckett replied simply.

"Alright, let's go then," Skye said, opening the door. She led the way out to Marie's room where the others were before she said, "Love?"

"Skye, what-" Mary started to say, rushing over to her and throwing her arms around her.

"You already accomplished what you needed to," Skye told her, hugging her back. "But we need to get back to work," she told her.

" _I'll be with the girls if you need me_ ," Mary murmured before brushing her lips against her wife's.

With a nod, Skye went to her daughters, kissing them both before she led Castle and Beckett back down to the office. She turned to them once they were inside and she was about to speak when the intercom at the gate rang then. "Sorry, just a moment," she told them before she headed out to the door to see if it was Burke.

"She's alright now," Castle said to his wife.

"She is, I think Mary was worried about the fact that she had to help her via phone last month," Beckett replied. "But you could tell Skye was close to the edge."

"I thought she was there in the hangar," Castle said with a nod. "What do you think?"

"Of the case? That's what Burke's here for," Beckett said. At that moment Skye, the detective and Mary came inside and she asked, "The twins?"

"They're doing their homework," Mary replied, since her wife was looking at her questioningly at that.

"Can you close the door?" Burke directed to Skye. When the investigator had done so he went to the desk and said, "Looking into the woman that Brent had known, Viola Wentz, she's not our killer. She was in Florida on Friday for a trip, flew from LAX to Miami and back," setting down a picture of an older black haired woman. "Now your two patients," he said to Mary, setting down two more pictures.

"Neither of them is blonde," Castle commented.

"No but that brief side shot that the FBI cleaned up for us shows us this," Burke replied, setting down a fourth photograph, the image from the security footage cleaned and sharpened.

"Almost the same jaw," Beckett said as they all looked at it.

"It could be Violet Fuller… maybe," Mary said.

"What can you tell us about her?" Burke replied.

"You're asking as Detective Burke?" Mary asked instead of answered. At the man's nod she went over to her desk where a bag was, pulling out two files.

"Love, you never take those out," Skye said in surprise as her wife came back over to them.

"For Brent, I'll make an exception," Mary said, handing the file she'd brought over to Burke. She smiled when Skye hugged her tightly and said, "You can all read it but I beg of you, don't mention anything in there."

" _Bipolar_ ," Beckett was able to see quickly.

" _Narcissistic complex_ …" Castle started to say. "So now that you have an idea it's her, can you really say why she's doing this?"

Seeing that the detective was watching her closely, Mary took a moment to think of how she would reply to that before saying, "I can but this isn't your answer Burke. And it won't really let you find her."

"It'll help us understand her," Burke said simply.

"With those letters," Mary said, smiling at her wife when she reached over and squeezed her hand gently. "It can go two different ways. During one of our sessions she came in and asked me who that was."

"Who?" Skye asked.

"You Rose," Mary replied, looking into her wife's eyes.

Leaning over to look at the picture of Fuller, Skye frowned for a brief second and then said, "I remember her. I nodded to her after I was leaving our second session and… she just stared at me while I was leaving. I would have been discomfited by that but I'd gotten that before. I thought she was interested in me."

"She was gay? I mean she is gay?" Beckett asked, correcting herself.

"She is," Mary replied. "And interested in my wife. Of course I answered that I couldn't tell her who Skye was but I then noticed her around in the lobby of the building where my office is on the days Skye was going to see me. I tried to speak to her about that but of course she would never answer me. So I had to let it go."

"And when I stopped seeing you?" Skye asked.

"I had to send her into an institution shortly after that," Mary said.

When everyone looked to him at that point Burke nodded and handed a file that he'd brought with him to Beckett.

Surprised, she opened it and read from the paper on top of a small stack, " _Violet Fuller was admitted to the San Gabriel Institution in December of 2008_." She then paused and turned to the next page saying, "This is a medical history from her doctor there."

Mary took that paper; as Beckett handed it to her; and said, "It looks like he got the same as I did."

"But you think she became obsessed with me?" Skye asked, bringing the focus back to the letters and picture.

"More than likely," Mary replied with a nod.

"Wait, how is she out of that institution?" Castle asked.

"It closed last year," Beckett said, reading from another paper.

"July of last year to be exact," Burke said. "Looking into it three patients were deemed fit to return to society and she was one of them."

Snorting Mary said, "You might want to look into the doctors who were deciding that."

"I think Racine's made a suggestion to the Department of Health," Burke said with a nod. "The one thing he and I can't figure out though is why Brent would be involved in all of this."

Starting to pace the room then before he'd even finished speaking, Skye thought and then said, "I think I know how but it depends on one thing." Turning to her wife she asked "What happened that brought her to you?"

"She was a co-pilot; she was in an incident when they were dealing with heavy gusts during a landing in… San Diego and she lost control," Mary replied quickly. "The pilot was on his own."

Not surprised when Skye looked a little angry at that, shaking her head, Beckett said, "And that led her to being assigned to see a psychiatrist?"

"Well she nearly had a mental breakdown so yes, she had to if she wanted to fly for TransJet again," Mary said with a nod. "The bipolar part of her was what played into it; she was having a hard time controlling herself." She then paused and held out her hand for the paper that Beckett was handing her, reading and seeing something that made her make a short noise.

"Mary?" Skye asked.

"It says she responded well to medication," she replied. "Were you able to trace her from July to now?"

"I'm afraid not, she went off grid," Burke said. "She had money in an account when she went into the institution and as soon as she was out she took that money and left."

"Okay," Mary said. "You can't get the kind of medication she was on without a prescription so unless she was getting it black market she was off it."

"Would she be able to last that long without it?" Castle said. "It wouldn't make her lose complete control?" A sudden look of realization appeared on his face and he and Beckett suddenly said together, "Unless her plans focused that control."

"That could be it," Mary said when Skye and Burke looked at her. "It would also explain why she killed Brent."

"Not because he found out about her?" Skye said in slight surprise.

"I'm not totally sure," Mary said. "But it could be she wanted to get her attention-" she started to say to Burke.

"The letter," Skye suddenly said, interrupting her wife. "I never responded to them in any way and never found out it was her sending them. She knew that besides Doug, Brent was my friend and she thought targeting him would lead me to her."

"Which makes the drug connection pretty much pointless," Castle stated.

"It has nothing to do with the case," Skye said firmly. "That was just coincidence. But with Violet, she wants to get my attention this way…"

"I'm not sure what her angle is with this," Mary said since her wife had turned to her then. "If she wanted you she would have just… I don't know, taken you somehow."  
"I'm glad she didn't," Skye replied.

"What was your second idea when we started talking about this?" Beckett suddenly said as they were all silent.

"She may want me," Mary replied, not surprised when her wife took her hand tightly.

"And she's taunting you Skye to hurt you," Castle said.

"It's an interesting theory but you said that she was interested in Skye in your sessions," Beckett reminded them all.

"How was she with you?" Burke asked Mary.

"She looked me over the first time we met," she replied quickly. "But as to what she thought of me besides her therapist… I wouldn't be able to tell you," she finished, shaking her head.

"Of course," Skye said. Sighing, she said, "So since Violet is a brunette…"

"Yeah we're all thinking she disguised herself," Burke said.

"Or…" Beckett and Castle said at the same time. When they paused for a moment, looking at each other, she looked over at the others and he jumped when they asked, "What?"

"Or she has a partner," Beckett said then, looking over at Mary.

"You think it would be another patient?" she asked in surprise.

"This might not be Violet," Castle said, tapping the security footage picture.

"You want to try and look at it closer?" Burke asked, seeing what the two were trying to do with that.

"I have a magnifier," Skye said, going over to her desk then and taking one out. She handed it to Mary and then watched as her wife looked over the woman's face closely.

Trying to look at it as closely as she could, Mary finally straightened up and shook her head. "I'm sorry; I can't tell what she looks like exactly, not with that bandaging on her nose."

"Then let's try a different tack," Burke told her.

"Look though my past patients and see who is a blonde?" Mary asked.

"It would work if we knew she was natural," Castle stated.

"She is," Skye, Mary and Beckett all said at the same time. When the two men looked at them Beckett spoke first in response to their expressions.

"The part in her hair in the other security footage and the fact that that color you cannot find in a bottle," she told them.

"I can do that though, I remember my patients pretty well," Mary said. "And after taking the men off the list, it's a lot smaller."

"How much?" Burke asked.

"About seventy five percent of my past patients are men," Mary replied. "And I can go through the list remaining now, see what I can find for you Corey."

The sound of a whistle suddenly cut into the room and Burke got his phone out saying, "I'm afraid you're going to need to tell me via phone," he told the others. "Racine needs me back. I'll let him know what we talked about here," he said. "And if we get anything, I'll call you Skye."

"He still wants us to help? Even with how he saw I was at the airport?" the investigator said in surprise.

"I reminded him about your connection with the vic," Burke replied. "Get in touch with me okay?"

"Got it, get going Detective," Skye said, smiling slightly and shaking her head before following him to let him out.

"So should we go?" Castle asked Mary.

"Would you mind checking on Marie and Kath?" the woman asked as she went over to her desk. "And you can come back with Skye, I promise," she told them.

"I'll go," Castle said quickly.

"Is there any reason why you have this list here?" Beckett asked when she was left alone with the woman.

"It's a full list but the way I set this up…" Mary replied, nodding to the screen. When Beckett had walked around to look at it she said, "There are spaces as you can see, those are my current patients."

"And it's not in alphabetical order," Beckett commented. She looked at the screen for a moment longer before she turned and went to the doorway. "So what are you going to do?" she asked Skye who was walking with Castle over to her.

"There's not much to do, I think we've reached the limit of our investigation," the investigator said as she walked past her to go into the office. "We need to wait for her of course but I get the feeling we're done for the day."

"I have to say," Castle commented, sitting on the couch in the room with Beckett then. "If this was to get to you then why haven't they sent anything else?"

"A really good question," Skye said, looking towards her wife from where she'd sat at her desk.

"I can see you love," Mary replied. "Hold on." She typed a few things and then said, "I would say it's more than likely because they have your attention now with murdering Brent. And I have three more names now."

Joining Skye and Castle in front of the desk Beckett said, "Are you absolutely sure?"

"That's the question isn't it?" Mary asked. "It's Beckie Roldan, Doris Bostick and Carol Washington."

"We couldn't search them ourselves could we?" Castle asked as Skye nodded to her wife and Mary took the cell phone the investigator handed to her.

"I think in this case it would be better to leave it to Burke," Skye said, her eyes not straying from her wife as she spoke to the detective.

"He's going to look at them and he'll contact us when they're finished," Mary said after she'd hung up.

"Mummy?" a voice said from the doorway then.

Turning, Skye said to Beckett though she was looking at Marie and Kathleen, "Is there anything else you can see us being able to do?"

"Not when Burke has what she found," Beckett replied, smiling at the twins slightly.

"Okay then I say Mary we take everyone up PCH," Skye said.

"To the fishy place?" Kathleen asked eagerly.

" _Reel Inn_ ," Skye told Castle and Beckett who had looked at her. "A seafood place. Unless you two want to head off on your own?"

"No, we'll tag along if we were included in the first place," Castle said, knowing already his wife would have said the same.

"We'll meet you at the garage," Beckett said. "We need to drive again don't we?"

"You do but it'll work out better that way since they like to go to the beach on the way home," Skye replied.

After nodding to the family, Beckett took her husband's hand and walked with him out of the house. "We seem to have found that name easily," she commented as they headed to the guesthouse.

"If Brent hadn't slipped up… he might have just solved his own murder," Castle said. "But wow, a little bit idiotic for these women to hide their identities by switching names."

"Too simple," Beckett said. When her husband nodded she then said, "I don't think they were the smartest people to begin with, not if they thought those letters would drive Skye into Violet's arms, or their arms."

"No," Castle said simply in agreement. "Let's hope that Burke gets a hit on the partner," he said as he opened the door, letting her go inside first.

Heading upstairs to their bedroom, Beckett said, "Any reason you need to change?"

"Who said I had to?" Castle asked. When his wife rolled her eyes he said, "Come on, you're not used to me doing this by now?"

Beckett merely shot him a look before she pulled off her blouse, pulling on a thinner one that she knew was going to catch her husband's attention. When she turned to him after finishing buttoning it up she asked, "Yes?" as he was staring at her.

"That won't be too cold?" Castle asked since it was sheer.

Not answering that, Beckett grabbed a jacket and threw it on saying, "You're driving Rick."

"Yeah," Castle said absently as he scrambled to stand up and follow her down to the garage where the McDouglases were waiting. He drove himself and Beckett after the other car, following them to the highway along the coast and in a northern direction. They drove for a short time before they pulled off at a small restaurant across the street from the beach and he was quick to park next to them in the small lot next to the building.

"I realize," Skye said as she saw the two were looking at the building. "It might not look like much but the food is quite good."  
"Really good," Kathleen said quickly.

"That too," Skye said, smiling as her daughter giggled.

"Anything you recommend?" Castle asked as they were walking up to the restaurant.

"Fish tacos," Skye and Mary said at the same time.

"I guess we'll order the same," Beckett said in amusement as the two looked at each other in slight surprise. "What, you never do that?"

"Not as much you do," Skye replied before they got in line to order. She spoke with her wife for a moment and said, "We're heading out to get a table."

"Go," Beckett said as she could see her husband was watching them walking out.

"Are you sure?" he said, turning back to her.

"I think we can handle things," Beckett replied.

Watching as he left, Mary said, "He's like a little boy sometimes."

"Oh you noticed that?" Beckett asked with a smile. When the woman nodded she said, "He was more so before he and I started dating, our daughters calm him down… slightly." She then said, "What about Skye?"  
"If you two are serious about going to Disneyland… my wife becomes a little girl again then," Mary said. She wasn't surprised at the startled expression on Beckett's face and said, "No, she is, I'm not kidding."

"That would be interesting to see," Beckett said before they reached the register and had to order.

"It's nice huh?" Marie asked Castle when he reached the table that she, her twin and their mother were sitting at.

"It is," he said with a nod.

"You mind watching them? They'll need some help inside with everything and we're not leaving them on their own," Skye asked.

"Do you miss your kids?" Kathleen asked as soon as her mother was back inside the restaurant.

"Kathy, Mummy said not to ask," Marie hissed.

"It's alright and I do," Castle replied. "But we'll see them again soon of course." He looked to his right and out of the small windows that they were next to, seeing the ocean in the distance. "Do you come here often?" he asked then, turning back to the twins and seeing that Marie was watching him.

"Sometimes on Fridays, early 'cause there's lots of traffic," Kathleen responded before her sister could. "And then on Saturday or Sunday too."

"Mommy and Mummy have to say when we can come here," Marie replied. "Are you gonna go to the beach with us?"

"I think so, where do you go? Back in Santa Monica?" Castle asked, amused at how serious her question had been.

"No, right there," Marie said, pointing out the window. "That's Topanga."

"I see, well we'll have to check it out," Castle replied. "Tell me, how are the shells there? I need to be able to tell Julia and I want to get a sneak preview before we go."

Walking out of the restaurant carrying a tray with drinks, Beckett smiled as she saw her husband had the girls giggling heavily at something. "Hey, your mothers didn't really want to send the drinks out; they told me you two would end up finishing them before the food came," she said as she let Castle take the tray when she reached the table.

"We won't," the twins said together immediately.

"I'm not thirsty," Marie then added.

"And we're telling him about the beach," Kathleen said matter of factly.

"The one in Santa Monica? We've been-" Beckett started to say.

"No, the one right there," Marie interrupted her.

"Apparently that's Topanga Beach," Castle told his wife.

"Topanga State Beach to be more precise," Skye said, coming out with a tray with plates of food on it, Mary a little bit behind her. "I've got it," she told Castle when he tried to take it. "Try holding the side of a plane's fuselage, it's not easy."

"I'll have to take your word for it," Castle replied as he let the two women set down the trays as he sat back down next to Beckett.

After everyone had a plate and a drink they began to eat before Marie spoke saying, "Could we get some shells to send to Julia?"  
"I don't think they'd make it one piece," Skye said. "But if they come here we could show them. Now," she said before she turned her attention to Castle and Beckett who were next to her again. "What do you think?"

"I feel very Californian," Castle commented.

Laughing, Mary said, "We've gotten that reaction from other friends when we've brought them here."

"It is good though," Beckett said, setting down her bottle of beer. "Do you come here often?"

"Usually once a weekend," Mary said before looking at her wife.

"Yes, I did miss it," Skye replied in a nearly deadpan tone. "Doug introduced me to this place. I used to come with him and Brent."

"They enjoyed it?" Castle asked, sharing a look with his wife at the mention of the vic.

"They did but Brent," Skye said with a slight laugh. "He wasn't much for seafood so he'd get chicken tacos." She sipped her bottle of water before saying, "I brought them here about six months ago."

"You had fun that night," Mary said, reaching across the table to take her wife's hand since they were sitting directly across from each other.

"Mummy are you sad?" Kathleen asked worriedly.

"No, just a little tired," Skye sighed. But she then straightened up and said, "Let's have a toast, to our friends who're here and to the hope we'll bring you back with your daughters."

Checking the investigator's face to make sure that she was alright, Beckett tapped her bottle to the woman's and said, "We'll be doing the same."

Nodding, Skye then said, "So you're really going to have them get married?"  
A little startled by the change in subject, Castle took a moment to reply to that before he mentally shook himself and said, "Yeah, we are. Wait."

"You didn't think she'd be able to figure that out?" Beckett asked her husband with a smile on her face as she'd been surprised as well by that.

"You thought she could?" Castle asked, looking around them.

"We're still alone, so Moor and Green are going to get married," Mary said.

"They are but when and how you're not going to be able to figure out… mainly because we don't know how yet ourselves," Castle replied.

"Still, it shouldn't come as a surprise to your readers you're going to do that," Skye said. "It's more of a challenge being married and keeping it secret then just dating."

" _Grá_ ," Mary said then, getting her wife's attention. When Skye looked at her she nodded to the girls and said, "Maybe a different subject."

With a quick nod Skye asked their daughters about their day at school and she glanced at Beckett out of the corner of her eye since she could tell she was watching her.

Noticing that too, Castle reached over and gently squeezed his wife's hand within his own as they were listening to the twins talking together to their mothers, feeling her slight pressure as she responded to him. He then turned his attention to the others and helped Mary clean up as Skye got her daughters off the bench they were sitting on and led them outside.

"You're not going to cross here are you?" Beckett asked as they were walking to the parking lot.

"No, too risky," Skye said simply. "Back in the car girls." When two groans were her response she looked at her daughters and told them, "We're not going through this again you two."

"It's just across the street Mummy," Marie protested.

"It's PCH Marie," Mary told her daughter as she and Castle reached them. "Not a street. Now come on, both of you in the car or else we'll just head on home."

"See that entrance down there?" Skye asked Castle and Beckett, pointing towards the west. When they nodded she said, "Go there and good luck."

"Is it that difficult?" Castle said, looking at the highway.

"If we were here an hour later yes," Skye replied. "You'll make it," she then finally said sternly. She threw a smile at Beckett so they wouldn't think she was angry and then went to get into the driver's seat of the car where her daughters were finally sitting.

Since Castle had the keys he drove after Skye and Mary, surprised that it took a little more time than he expected to get into the parking lot for the beach. "I thought she was kidding," he said.

"I think it would take longer with traffic to make your way over," Beckett said as they got out of the car.

"Did-" Castle started to say before he saw that she was holding onto her camera. "Where did you have that?"  
"My bag Rick," Beckett said with a smile before they then went after the McDouglases to a flight of stairs down to the sand.

"What do you think?" Kathleen asked when they were close to the breaking waves.

"Really nice," Castle said since Beckett was taking pictures and he knew she wasn't going to answer yet. "So what about those shells?"

"Right here," Marie replied, going over to him and taking his hand.

Lowering her camera then Beckett glanced over at Skye and Mary, seeing they were talking quietly to each other. When the former turned and started walking towards the east she immediately went after her before anyone else could notice.

Hearing her name, Skye almost thought it was her wife and she turned, a little started to see that it was Beckett. "Can I help you?" she asked as she waited for her to catch up.

"I just wanted to walk with you," she said placatingly. When Skye merely turned and started to walk again, Beckett followed and said, "You don't swim here?"

"No, we just let the girls run around after we eat across the highway," Skye replied. She then said, "I'm not quite so certain you followed just to walk."

"You're starting to think about the case," Beckett said simply.

"You didn't get Bracken until after you adopted Julia," Skye said, stopping so abruptly that Beckett nearly walked passed her. "Was she enough to help you set one foot in front of the other?"

"Her and Rick," Beckett said firmly. "They do love you and I think your girls are worried about you too."

Sighing, Skye looked out to the water and said, "They are, I can tell. I try not to do this; act like this; because Mary and the girls don't deserve it but I've had to deal with this in some way for so long."

"It's hard to shake," Beckett said. "But you care for people, greatly."

Smiling wryly then, Skye said, "My wife likes to say I care for people too much."

"Even her?" Beckett asked.

"Except for her," Skye was quick to continue. "She doesn't count apparently."

Nodding slightly, Beckett said, "Do you normally do this? Walk off?"

"If I'm feeling moody I will," Skye said. "I'm just tired, like I mentioned earlier, this time around. I thought a walk would wake me up."

Looking out to the ocean herself at that point, Beckett couldn't help taking a picture and said, "You spend a lot of time here."

"You guessed?" Skye said. When Beckett nodded she said, "It's a healing atmosphere and I don't know why that is." She then smiled and said, "I suppose it comes from being descended from island dwellers."

"In all aspects of your ancestors," Beckett said, shaking her head as she smiled as they'd talked about that connection to the water before. She placed her hand on her friend's shoulder and said, "We have leads."

"We do, it'll be over soon, Brent will have justice," Skye replied a little somberly. She then heard one of her daughters crying out and looked over in that direction. "But you know, he would be the first to remind me that I should remember what I have. And I'll take that advice, and yours."

"But I didn't-" Beckett started to say as she followed the woman back to the others.

"No but what you wanted to say right now was pretty clear," Skye said, smiling slightly. "And I think you might want to give your husband a break from playing with my daughters."

Looking ahead as they neared the others, Beckett saw that the twins had made Castle lean on the sand, guessing they were having him look through it to find shells. When she had reached them, Skye going to her wife, she said, "Do you two mind if I take him from you?"

"I'll look with you girls," Skye said, stepping over to them.

"Okay?" Beckett asked her husband as he stood up and went to her.

"Yeah, there aren't too many shells right now," Castle said, showing her what he held in the palm of his hand.

"I don't know if Julia would like those, they're pretty small," Beckett said with a smile.

"This one isn't," Castle said, reaching into his pocket.

"Pretty," Beckett said as held the abalone shell, turning it over to see the inside.

"She's still doing alright isn't she?" Castle asked in a low tone then, glancing at Skye who was wading in the water with her daughters. "When did she take off her boots?" he asked in surprise.

"And her," Beckett said with a smile as she nodded to Mary who was finishing taking off her boots and joining the others. "She's good," she said finally in response to his first question. "Take a walk with me," she then said, taking his hand. "And then we'll head back." When he nodded she smiled and she went over to the family as her husband followed, taking her hand.

"Leaving?" Skye asked, looking back as they approached.

"No, we're going to walk down the beach and then leave," Castle replied.

"Alright, we'll be back… later most likely," Mary said as they looked to the twins who were kicking at the water ahead of them.

"If we don't see you I'll," Skye said before she paused. "I'll text you if we get anything."

"Burke didn't text you with anything," Beckett stated, watching the girls to make sure they wouldn't hear.

"He said it would probably take until tomorrow to get enough information," Mary replied. "Remember I told you Racine wants to focus on finding Fuller."

"I don't remember," Castle said.

"She told me while we were waiting for dinner," Beckett said. "Then text us if he contacts you at all." When the two women nodded to her, she squeezed her husband's hand and then led the way down the beach towards the east. "What do you think?" she asked him then.

"Of what?" Castle asked instead of replying, looking back to her from the waves. "The case?"

"No, we've discussed that already," Beckett said. "Here?"

"The girls would like it," Castle said, glancing around with a slight nod. "Why?"

Shrugging Beckett said, "I was just wondering."

Studying her Castle said, "That's not the real reason though, for that question."  
Rolling her eyes Beckett said, "I'm thinking of Julia and Eliza."

"If you're asking me if they'd like it here, I would say yes, definitely," Castle said. "But they might like Santa Monica Beach more."

"More like home?" Beckett asked with a slight smile on her face.

"Basically," Castle replied. "You want to keep walking?" he said as he looked at his watch.

"I would, let's head to that building up there and then go back," Beckett replied. When she looked to her husband and saw the slight surprise on her face she smiled and said, "They're likely playing before bed."

Since he'd already seen the time, Castle said simply, "Probably, or getting ready."

"Or that," Beckett agreed with a nod. "He's going to want to give Eliza a bath and then they'll be ready to talk."

"You didn't get anything from her phone did you?" Castle said.

"No," Beckett said simply, knowing that he meant Julia's cell phone. She was only supposed to use that for emergencies and before they'd left for California she'd told her to text her if she ever wanted to talk. She'd said the same thing when they'd gone to Canada the year before and with no sign of a text she had a feeling that their oldest was coping well. "I think if there had been a problem she would have done so by now. Text I mean."

Castle nodded to that and then said, "We have no clue when we're going to be needed to help on the case."

"At the moment, no," Beckett said, watching her husband out of the corner of her eye. "What did you have in mind?"

Not responding to that at first, Castle then stopped and said, "Sit with me."

Though she let him help her sit down, Beckett kept her eye on him but eventually the sound of the waves caught her attention and she turned her head towards them. "So you have something in mind if you walked with me to make me sit on the sand," she told him teasingly.

As he knew he couldn't really keep things from his wife any longer, Castle told her seriously, "How are you."

Smiling then, Beckett said, "I had an idea you might be thinking I would be reminded of my mother's case. And while I am, it's not really taking an emotional toll." At her husband's look at that, she said, "I think that's what you're worried I'm going through."

"Not really that, just bad memories," Castle said. He was surprised when his wife leaned over then and kissed him on the lips briefly and that was enough for him to be assured that she wasn't dwelling on the past. When she pulled away he wrapped his arm around her shoulder tightly while they turned their attention back to the ocean.

When they heard the sound of familiar laughter, Beckett turned to her right and saw that it was Skye and Mary's twins; their mothers right behind them. "You decided to join us?" she asked them.

"More a favor we'd like to ask," Skye replied.

"Go ahead," Castle said. When the two women looked at them in surprise he said, "Where are you going to walk?"

"The other way, not that long," Mary said, smiling at their idea being figured out. "We'll let you get back to the house in time."

Watching the two walking away from them, Marie turned to Castle and Beckett and asked, "What are you doing?"

"Just sitting," Beckett replied, standing up then and brushing the sand from her jacket she'd been on. "What were you two doing?"

"Walking," Kathleen said with a smile. She turned to her parents and then smiled saying, "Mummy's happier now, thank you."  
"Why are you thanking me?" Beckett asked. "Your mom-"

"You helped too," Marie said, looking down at her wriggling toes as the foam from a wave dissolved over them.

"Then I'm glad I could do that," Beckett replied. "So are you two looking forward to going to the third grade?"

"Kinda," Kathleen said with a shrug, her sister making the same movement. "Is Julia going to like fifth grade?"  
"She doesn't know yet," Castle said. "She's a little nervous of course but she's more focused on her summer vacation."

"So are we," Marie said with a laugh. "We get to go to Hawaii, Mummy and Mommy went there before they got us."

"They had a lot of fun," Kathleen said.

"You two will as well," Skye said, coming back with Mary then.

"That was a short walk Mummy, Mommy," Marie said seriously.

"It was long enough," Mary said firmly. "You two can go now," she said to Castle and Beckett.

"We're going to have to," he said to the twins then as the two girls were looking at them pleadingly. "Our girls need to go to bed soon, for their day at school tomorrow."

"He's right but I'm sure your moms will go on a longer walk next time you're here," Beckett said, looking at Skye and Mary.

"We'll bring your grandfather," Skye told them. She then nodded to Castle and Beckett; to indicate they could go if they wanted; and wasn't surprised when they told them goodbye.

Waving at the twins, Castle said, "They're adorable."

"They are," Beckett said, shaking her head at his tone of voice though she was also smiling. She took his hand as they had to make their way to the drier sand and once they'd gotten to the smaller parking lot she said, "They had to have a good night."

"The ceramic studio and the _Studebaker_ in one night? I'll be surprised if your dad doesn't have any problems getting them to sleep," Castle said, making her stop. He could see in her glance to him that she was wondering why he'd done that when he quickly leaned over, brushing his lips to hers.

"I expect you to do better later Rick," Beckett told him commandingly.

" _As you say_ Kate," Castle replied. When she punched his chest with her fist he laughed and then took her hand, leaning the way to the steps to the other parking lot.

As the two were going up they were both thinking of their daughters again, their line of thought the same. They were hoping that they'd had a good night since it would be the second one they'd spent apart. Trying to shake that from their minds they continued to the car and were soon on PCH again, heading back to Santa Monica and the McDouglas home.


	8. Night And All Its Mixed Emotions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The title of this chapter is a lyric from the song Put It There by Paul McCartney, from his album Flowers in the Dirt.

Watching her sister, Julia told her, "He'll come right back down, he's only going to make sure he can drive."

"With a…" Eliza started to try to say before she paused, frowning.

"Lie," Julia pronounced first for her.

"Lie," Eliza repeated.

"Sense," Julia then finished. When her little sister slowly pronounced that she nodded and said, "Good job."

"She's right" Jim said, coming down the stairs as he was pocketing his wallet. "You're a good teacher Julia."

Shaking her head the little girl said, "I only help on some words, Daddy does that a lot more. He knows big words."

"Big ones," Eliza added before she hopped down from the bench with her big sister's help. "Do we see 'lexis?" she asked as Julia held her hand while they went to the garage.

"Later on tonight she'll call," Jim replied, having texted back and forth with his step-granddaughter that day. "For now let's get going so we're not too late to talk to your parents."

"Mommy and Daddy?" Eliza then asked when her grandfather was putting her into her car seat.

"They're probably getting some last minute work done," Jim said. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah… I miss… them," Eliza said carefully before she smiled widely.

"A lot?" Julia asked, looking over at her when their grandfather stood up and closed the door. "Do you want them to come home now?"

"Do they work?" Eliza asked. When her sister nodded she shook her head saying firmly, "Mommy and Daddy help." She then stuck her tongue out for a moment and said, "They miss… us?"

"Of course they do," Jim said as he was buckling his seat belt. "I know as soon as they can, they'll want to see you."

Julia smiled at her sister when Eliza kicked her legs a little in response to that and said, "Now we get to go paint Lizzy."

"I know," Eliza replied with a giggle. "What do you paint?"  
"I think I'm gonna paint a plate this time," Julia said. She then gasped and when Eliza looked at her with wide eyes she said, "Let's both paint one and give it to Mommy and Daddy once they come home."

"Kay, what do I paint?" Eliza asked.

"I don't know yet, let's wait to see when we go home," Julia replied. "Maybe Grandpapa will help us."

"Why don't we wait to see what you're going to paint first?" Jim asked, smiling back at them in the mirror, having been listening to their conversation.

"Okay," Julia said, reaching over and holding her sister's hand. "What do you want to have at the restaurant?"

"Cookies!" Eliza cried immediately.

"I don't think they're going to have that on the menu," Jim replied, smiling again at that. He glanced in the mirror and seeing his granddaughter's slightly pouting lips told her, "Why don't we wait and see what's on the menu?"

"Kay," Eliza replied. She then looked out the window as she could feel the car was stopping and she asked, "Do we go now?"

"We're here," Jim said. "Wait Julia," he said quickly when he heard her unbuckling her seatbelt.

"I know Grandpapa," the little girl said. "I'm gonna help."

Going back to them, Jim watched as Julia unbuckled her sister's car seat before he took the toddler into his arms.

"I wanna walk," Eliza told him seriously.

"Just until we get inside okay?" Jim asked her. When she thought for a moment and then nodded, he had to chuckle under his breath as by then they were nearly to the door of the studio. He realized that Julia wasn't with him and for a moment he was concerned before he quickly spotted her looking into the window of the florist's shop next door. "Julia, honey, come on," he called to her.

"Sorry, I was thinking about Daddy going in there," the little girl said, going over to them and following him inside the studio.

"How often does he?" Jim asked, wondering as he knew his son in law sometimes got Beckett flowers.

Before Julia could respond to that they were led to a table and after getting some milk; while her grandfather got some tea; she took them to pick out their items to paint. "Look at those," she said to Eliza, pointing to some square shaped plates. "They're like frames for what we paint, want those?"

At the toddler's nod Jim grabbed two before he told them, "Why don't you pick for me what I'll paint."  
"You paint too?" Eliza asked in surprise.

"You didn't think I would?" Jim said.

"We weren't sure," Julia replied slowly. "But what about a plate too?"

"What would I do with it?" Jim asked.

Frowning at that, Julia then said, "Then a vase."

"Okay, what would I do with that?" Jim then said.

"We'll help," Julia explained, pointing to herself and Eliza. "And you can put it in your office."

"Alright," Jim said as he grabbed the vase that Julia had motioned to. "But you two have to paint most of it okay?"

"Then should we paint it first?" Julia asked. She was startled when he leaned over and kissed the top of her head as they made their way over to their table and said, "Why?"

"Because you're very smart," Jim replied, smiling when the little girl blushed. "And you too Eliza," he said as he picked the toddler up and kissed her forehead. Setting her into her high chair, he sat next to her, watching Julia get on the chair across from them. "Drink your milk first you two," he told them.

"Now we can paint the vase," Julia said quickly once they'd both taken a sip from their cups. "What first?"

"Well, I think someone needs to consider a way to paint this," Jim replied. "Do you have any ideas Eliza?"

Giggling shyly, the toddler seemed to think for a moment before she was saying, "Blue!"

"Just paint it blue?" Jim asked, not surprised when Julia was quick to speak.

"We can paint it blue and then black lines on it," the little girl told him. "Is that alright?"

"It's very simple," Jim replied. "And I do like simple of course."

Smiling at that, Julia told him, "You can paint the vase blue and then when it's dry we can paint the lines."

"Are you going to be okay painting this?" Jim asked Eliza. When the toddler shrugged he said, "I think you need to decide what you're going to paint now for your plates."

"I think it should be the ocean," Julia replied hurriedly. "Do you like that idea?" she asked her little sister.

"Yeah, what do I paint?" Eliza said eagerly.

"Just paint the blue and then Grandpapa can help with the waves," Julia told her. "And maybe we can put ships on it?"

"For the ships you've been on before?" Jim asked.

"That and Daddy likes them," Julia told her.

"And Mommy?" Eliza asked.

"Why don't we paint some dolphins on the other plate?" Julia said, her voice starting to speed up with her excitement. "And it'll be like the first time I went on the ship with Mari, Rebecca and David."

"There are dolphins?" Eliza said, her eyes wide.

"There were," Julia said, smiling as she remembered. She bit at her lower lip for a second and then pushed aside her memory of how she'd been calling her father by their last name then. "Daddy would say that was a good idea," she said then. "And Mommy too."

"Then we should get started," Jim said, wondering what the little girl had been thinking about in that moment. But she seemed to be able to turn her attention to the plate in front of her so he turned to Eliza, helping her get blue paint to cover it in.

The table was quiet then as the three were busy painting their things, Jim helping both of his granddaughters when they needed him to. Finally he had to help them, as they were first painting the lines on his vase.

"Don't worry," he told Julia with a smile after she had asked him if he liked the way she was painting one line. "However you two paint this I don't care, I just want to know my granddaughters had fun working on it whenever I look at it."

Smiling at that, Julia painted a thin squiggly line before she started to push the vase across the table.

"Why don't you paint the lines, and Eliza can put dots in between them," Jim suggested.

"Do you want to?" Julia asked her little sister.

"Yes," Eliza replied with a quick nod of her head.

Smiling at that, Julia then turned her attention to the lines on the vase, which she was soon able to do. "Now while that dries, paint your waves," she told Eliza quickly, nodding to the plate in front of her.

"Grandpapa help me?" the toddler asked.

"What colors do you want?" Jim said in response.

"White and some grays," Julia said when her sister looked to her to answer. As her grandfather was picking out those from the paints they had at the table she said, "I hope Mommy and Daddy could go to the ocean while they're there."

"Is it home?" Eliza asked.

"No, not our beach," Julia said as she could see that their grandfather looked a little confused. "It's the Pacific Ocean, you saw it before," she said. "But you were just a baby so you don't remember huh?"

"Do I go again?" Eliza asked.

"I hope!" Julia cried.

Since they were all soon concentrating on the waves that time they were quiet before Julia was the first to finish and she held up her plate for them to see. She smiled when her grandfather and sister applauded her efforts and she peered across the table at the other plate.

"I think she did pretty well," Jim said as he noticed what Julia was looking at. "I only had to help a little."

"More than that," the little girl said with a smile.

"I moved her hand," Jim said simply.

"Grandpapa?" Julia asked as she waited then for that paint to dry and watched him help Eliza start to paint dots on the vase. "Did Mommy ever make stuff for you like this?"

"Oh she did, quite a lot of stuff too," Jim said with a nostalgic smile. "She usually liked to use colored pencils but she did a few ceramic things for her mother."

"Do you still have that stuff?" Julia asked.

"I do, I made sure to save every last thing and put it in a box," Jim replied.

"It's up at your cabin?" Julia guessed.

"It is," Jim replied with a nod. "Next time you're up there I'll show you, I promise." After a few more minutes he checked both plates to make sure the paint had dried enough and he then helped Eliza paint a small boat so it looked like it was in the distance. He then checked on Julia, seeing that she'd mimicked his boat the best she could and he asked, "Are you going to still paint those dolphins?"

"I will, I have to make them right though," Julia replied. "Or else they'll look like sharks." With that she then used a thin paintbrush to paint the fins of four dolphins and she showed them to her grandfather to see if it looked like the right animal to him.

"Fins!" Eliza cried.

"I know, they look just like dolphins," Jim said, smiling as Eliza nodded her head rapidly then.

With a slightly shy smile, Julia said thank you to them both and filled in the fins. After she had finished she gave the plate to the worker who came around to their table to take their things to the kiln. When everything was gone she said, "Now what do we do?"

"You can play for a little," Jim said. "Come on," he told them after he'd gotten Eliza out of her high chair. He carried her over to the section with a few toys for children to play with while waiting and set her down at a small table before Julia joined her at another chair. He sat down and checked his phone for any e-mails or messages before he turned his attention back to his granddaughters who were running wooden beads through the mazes that the table had all over the top of it.

Just as she was starting to get bored Julia saw the employee who had taken their things coming over to them with three boxes. "Our things are cooked!" she said, jumping up from her chair.

Smiling as Eliza squealed in response to her sister, Jim took the boxes and said to them, "Hold hands while we go to the car okay?"

"Are we going to the restaurant now?" Julia asked.

"Did you want to go somewhere else?" Jim said since she sounded disappointed.

Julia thought for a moment of where else they could go before she sighed and said, "No."

Walking out to the car, Jim watched as Julia helped her little sister step up into the backseat of the car while he was setting the things away in the trunk. When he reached them he wasn't surprised to see the two girls standing behind the passenger seat. "Okay, up you go honey," he told Eliza before buckling her into her seat. When both she and Julia were set he drove them to the restaurant and once they were there he went to the backseat, sitting next to his oldest granddaughter.

"What is it?" Julia asked in surprise.

"I just wanted to do this," Jim replied before he hugged her tightly to him.

Julia was still confused but then she relaxed and sighed deeply as she found comfort in her grandfather's embrace. She hugged him back for a few moments before she heard whimpering next to her. "What's wrong?" she asked Eliza.

"Me too Grandpapa! Too!" the toddler complained.

Laughing softly, Jim kissed Julia's forehead before he got out and went over to the other side to get Eliza out. Once he had he took her out of the car and swung her up into his arms, kissing her cheek before hugging her tightly. "Come on girls," he said. "Let's have a really nice dinner and then tonight when we get home we'll play a game before we talk to the family. He smiled when both girls cheered at that and he then led the way over to the door to the diner.

Looking around excitedly, Julia took Eliza's hand as they went out to the tables and sat down at one, her sister sitting next to their grandfather. "Can we pick a song?" she asked hopefully, looking at the small jukebox at the window next to them. "These are new," she then said, as they were a recent addition to the restaurant. When Jim handed her a quarter she smiled widely and thanked him, telling her sister, "What should we pick?"

Eliza looked at the words but then shook her head before seeming to be upset.

"It's okay," Julia told her sister quickly, knowing what was wrong. "I can read them for you."

"There's a lot there," Jim pointed out to her gently. "Are there any Beatles songs?"

"Yeah, a bunch," Julia replied. She then listed the ones there and when she paused at one said, "I wanna pick this one."

"Go ahead," Jim said. He watched as she placed the quarter and then picked out the song. When _Get Back_ started he said, "You know your grandmama and I used to do this on dates."

"When was that?" Julia asked, glancing at her sister and trying not to giggle as she could see the surprise on the toddler's face.

"Back in the sixties," Jim replied. "You know I had met your grandmama when I was a junior in high school and she was a sophomore. We did date a little then but we didn't think it was serious until we ran into one another three years later at the same diner we used to go to."

"Did you pick songs?" Julia asked.

"Dance?" Eliza said.

"Yes to both," Jim replied with a slight smile as the memory was still a little painful since he wanted more than anything to be telling the story with his wife. But seeing how engrossed his granddaughters were he couldn't stop and he said, "We would have shakes and argue a little about what song to pick before we finally chose the ones we both liked."

"I'm glad you met again," Julia said seriously.

"So was I," Jim replied.

"Did Mommy and Daddy?" Eliza asked.

"You know their story is different," Julia replied. She had to stop there as a waiter came along and they had to order their drinks and food. When they were alone again she said, "They met at work and Mommy said no to Daddy before they were friends and then she said that she loved him for a long time."

"Is that how they explained it to her?" Jim asked as Eliza looked pleased hearing that.

"It is, when she's older they'll say what they told me," Julia said quickly. "It's a pretty story but they took time Lizzy."

"But they are in love," Jim said when Eliza looked to be a little unsure of that information. "You see it when you're around them don't you?"

Giggling, Eliza nodded and said, "They have special smiles."

"They do," Julia replied. "Remember I told you?"

"I do and I can't believe I almost forgot that," Jim said. He had to wonder what it was about the girls that made them okay with their parents displaying their affection for each other in front of them. He recalled easily that his daughter hadn't been fully comfortable seeing him and his wife doing that growing up but she had accepted it. Looking at Julia then he recalled how she'd been afraid of her potential family not coming together and guessed it stemmed from that. He had to shake himself from his thoughts when Eliza tugged on his sleeve for him to see what she had colored which he was quick to do as Julia was soon doing the same to him.

While they were waiting for their food, Eliza looked at her grandfather from time to time before she pushed away the book she'd been coloring in, looking outside.

"Are you finished?" Jim asked, putting his hand on her back when he saw her doing that.

"I think she's tired of coloring," Julia replied, looking at her.

"Want Mommy," Eliza said firmly. "Want a story."

"I was thinking," Jim said, knowing then what was bothering the toddler. "About showing you and your sister the pictures I have from when your mother was little here on my phone."

Looking slightly interested, Eliza said, "Yeah?"

"Do you want to?" Jim asked instead of replying. At the slight nod of the toddler's head, he leaned over and kissed her forehead saying, "I'll tell you stories then." He was relieved when she smiled at that but had to turn his head as their food was served to them and he had to help Eliza by cutting her grilled cheese sandwich. "Don't forget you can dip your sandwich in your tomato soup," he told her when he had finished. He smiled when she looked at him in almost shock before asking, "What's wrong?"

"He does that Lizzy, you didn't see before?" Julia said, having been watching them while she was getting ready to eat her chicken strips. "It's good, he showed me before when I spent the night for the first time at his home."

A doubtful look on her face, Eliza carefully dipped her sandwich piece into the soup and took a bite. Her look soon turned to a smile and she started to hum before doing the same thing again.

"Oh Grandpapa, I wish we could stay up late," Julia suddenly said as she and Jim went back to their food.

"Why?" he asked with a slight smile on his face.

"It would be fun," Julia replied. "And we could talk to Mommy and Daddy later." But when a second later he slowly shook his head she sighed and said, "No?"

"Sorry but you know your mother would not want me to do that," Jim replied.

"She might get mad huh?" Julia asked.

"A little," Jim replied.

Sighing, Julia ate again and then said, "Can I tell you what I did today at school? And Eliza too?" adding that when her sister looked up at them.

"Go ahead," Jim directed to his youngest granddaughter.

Since both girls had to talk about their days in between eating, it took the rest of the meal to tell their grandfather everything. Once they'd finished, Jim got them ready to go before leaving after he'd paid, watching the two dancing a little next to him at the register.

"Alright, let's see if we might have time to play a game before we talk to everyone," Jim said as he picked Eliza up and took Julia's hand with his free one. He felt her squeeze it and asked, "Are you excited to play?"

"Yeah, are you?" Julia asked her little sister. At her nod she said, "I'm excited to talk to Mommy and Daddy a little bit more."

"Me too," Eliza was quick to say.

"We will soon," Jim promised before they reached the car and he helped them into the back. Driving home, he listened to them with a smile as they talked about what they'd tell their parents about their days at school before finally agreeing to tell them everything, just as he pulled into the garage at the beach house.

"Let's pick something now, really fast," Julia said to her little sister once they were inside. "And play it until Mommy and Daddy call."

Nodding her head, Eliza followed her to the cabinet and when they were looking through it she said, "Cherries."

"This one?" Julia asked. When her little sister nodded eagerly she giggled and said, "Remember that this isn't real fruit okay?"

"What did you pick?" Jim asked, watching them.

"Hi Ho Cherry-O," Julia read off the box before she handed it to him. "Mommy and Daddy let her start playing this one since she's three now."

"They usually let you play games a little older with them," Jim replied as he went to the coffee table.

"See the fruit?" Julia said as she pointed to the pieces once he had the cover off the game.

"I see, she's not going to try and eat these will she?" Jim said, looking at Eliza as he spoke though.

Giggling, Eliza shook her head and said, "I don't."

"You two will have to teach me how to play this one," Jim told them.

"It's easy," Julia replied. "But first we have to put the fruit in the right tree." She helped her sister do that; though Eliza did it mostly herself as she liked to place the fruit into its correctly colored tree; and then said to their grandfather, "This isn't really a real fruit."

Seeing that she was pointing to the blue one, Jim asked, "Why not?"

"It's blueberries and they don't grow on trees, they're on bushes, Mommy and Daddy took us to pick them once," Julia replied. "Remember?"

"I do," Jim said as he'd been with them the year before for that. "And I remember you eating more than you picked Eliza."

"Now we play," the toddler said with a smile. She was allowed to go first, and she spun the spinner with her sister's help, seeing she could pick one fruit off of the red tree which she'd chosen to play with.

Jim watched as Julia helped Eliza with counting as the game continued and he smiled when the toddler cheered heavily at picking ten fruits first and winning. "That's a nice game," he said when he had put it away. "I can see why she likes it."

Julia was about to reply to that when his phone started to ring and she cried out, "It's them!"

As quickly as he could, Jim got the TV ready and stood with the girls as their parents appeared on the screen.

"Hi Julia, Eliza," Beckett said as she smiled down at them. She squeezed Castle's hand when the two cried out their hellos to them both and she then said, "So you'll have to tell us about how your day went."

"Both of you," Castle added.

Giggling, Eliza looked at her sister before she nodded and she quickly told their parents about her day at school.

"But you're okay now?" Castle asked as she told them about skinning her knee a little at recess.

Nodding, Eliza said, "Grandpapa said you kiss it after Mommy."

"I will," Beckett said, smiling slightly at her. "But it seems like you're okay."

"Yeah I took a nap and went to see Julia dance," Eliza continued.

When Eliza stopped there Castle said in amusement, "I think that's where you tell your story now Julia."

"I thought so too," the little girl said, smiling at her sister. She then talked about her class, when her sister had gotten hurt at recess and lastly her dance class. "So we're doing a little test since school is almost over," she told them.

"With your dances?" Beckett asked.

"Yeah, they're not real tests," Julia was quick to say. "But we're going over the dances again to make sure we'll remember the steps and remember what to practice."

"You're going to right?" Castle asked.

Julia nodded and then said as somberly as she could, "I'll dance the Foxtrot all the way down Penny Lane when we go to Liverpool." She then started laughing, unable to keep it in as her father looked startled for a moment.

"I can see you doing that," Castle stated. "Okay so after school?"

"I did homework, Eliza did some art with Grandpapa," Julia said quickly.

"Some painting," Jim said as the toddler was tugging on his hand. "A picture for me to take home."

"That was nice of you to do Eliza," Beckett said.

"After we went to the studio," Julia said. "And we painted some things."

"Things?" Castle echoed. "We don't get to know what they were."

"A vase," Eliza said in a rush. "For Grandpapa."

"Again, a nice thing to do," Beckett said. "Did you paint at all Dad?" she asked him.

"The vase, they painted lines and dots on it," Jim responded. He then noticed his granddaughters were looking at him and he said to the two on the screen, "It's a surprise, what they were painting today."

"For us," Beckett stated.

"They were gonna figure out," Julia quickly said as she saw that her sister looked dismayed. "And yeah, it's a surprise but you can't see until you come home."

"Okay, then we'll be looking forward to that even more," Castle commented.

"How is work going?" Julia asked before he could continue.

"It's going well, we think we're nearly finished," Beckett replied. "But we can't be sure of that just yet."

"I bet you will be soon," Julia replied. "Are you going to the beach house still?" When her parents looked at each other she told them quickly, "You need to."

"Why?" Castle asked, some laughter in his voice.

"Because you can be alone too," Julia said. "You don't have to be with us every day."

"You like that we are though," Beckett said as she caught the slight hesitation in her voice. "And we might still go but only for a couple days."

"Good," Julia said, nodding her head.

"Yeah," Eliza said, mimicking her sister's movement.

Trying not to laugh at how adorable their youngest looked, Beckett felt her husband squeeze her hand before she then turned her attention to her father, "You haven't given her a bath yet have you?"

"We played a game instead," Jim said, seeing Eliza looking a little worried. "But as soon as we hang up with you I'll take them upstairs."

"It's getting late," Castle said, looking at his watch. He sighed when both girls protested and said, "We can tell you one thing about our day."

"He's right," Beckett said as her husband was then looking at her. "We went out to eat at a place across the street from the beach. Though it was actually a highway."

"Did you go to the beach?" Julia asked eagerly.

"We did but we just walked around a little," Castle replied. "Do you want to hear about the whole dinner or just the beach?"

"All of it," Julia replied.

"I should have known," Castle mumbled under his breath.

Shaking her head as she tried not to smile so obviously at that, Beckett helped him tell their daughters and her father about their time in Malibu, from the dinner to the point where they'd left the beach to return home. "So it was nice, a little break from working," she said.

"It sounds fun," Julia said. "I hope you can bring that shell back," she said as Castle had held it up to the screen for them to see.

"We'll try," Beckett said. "But now you need to go to bed Eliza." When the toddler tried to protest she said, "You keep yawning. So I'll say goodnight now and I love you Julia, Eliza."

"Love you Mommy," the toddler replied.

"Love you too Mommy," Julia said. "We'll talk to you tomorrow?"

"Of course," Beckett said. "Night Dad."

"Goodnight Katie," Jim said, saying the same to his son in law.

"And I love you too Julia, Eliza," Castle said to them. "Sweet dreams okay?"

"Kay," Eliza said first. "Love you Daddy."

"I love you too Daddy," Julia said. "Can't wait to talk to you tomorrow."

"Neither can we," Beckett said. "Bye," she called with Castle before he hung up.

"What about Alexis?" Julia said as soon as the screen was dark.

"I think your sister heard you," Jim said with a slight smile, his phone starting to ring then. He opened the call then coming into Skype and watched the girls as they waved to their sister.

"Hi you two," Alexis said with a smile as she looked down at them. "How's it going?"

"We painted," Eliza said seriously.

"And we played a game too," Julia added.

"That's great to hear," Alexis replied. "So you had fun today, right?"

"Yeah, did you?" Eliza said.

"A little," Alexis said with a smile. "But first I want to hear how your days went okay?"

"They'll have to talk a little fast," Jim said then.

"It's bedtime?" Alexis asked. At his nod she said, "Then tell me but try to talk a little fast." She then listened as Eliza talked about her day, letting her check to see if she was okay after the slight injury to her knee. After Julia had told her about hers she told them how her day at school had gone.

"Was that your last final?" Julia asked when her big sister had finished speaking.

"No, remember tomorrow morning is," Alexis replied. "And as soon as I can get the last of my things back to the loft, I'll drive out to you guys."

"When," Eliza asked eagerly.

"I'm not sure yet but you should be out of school by then Lizzy," Alexis told her.

"Kay," Eliza said. "Will you play?"

"Of course," Alexis said with a smile. "So I should say goodnight to you two, let you go to bed."

"You don't have to," Julia said slyly.

"And have your mom and Dad mad that I did that?" Alexis said jokingly.

"They wouldn't," Julia protested.

"She's right honey," Jim said. "I'm sure she needs to study for her test before she goes to bed."

Sighing, Julia nodded saying, "We have school too."

"I know, I'm taking you two on Friday okay?" Alexis reminded them. At their smiles and rapid nods of their heads she said, "Then let's say goodnight. Sweet dreams Jules, Lizzy, I love you both."

"Love you 'lexis." "Yeah, love you 'lexis," Julia and then Eliza told her, waving. After their big sister had said goodnight to their grandfather they turned to him and when he picked up the toddler they sighed at the same time.

"There's something about summer that makes it harder to get you two to bed," Jim said as he took Julia's hand, walking to the stairs.

"It's too nice outside to sleep," the little girl told him in a matter of fact tone.

"And still light out," Jim said as it was nearing twilight. "But we're getting closer to school finishing for the year, and I'm sure your parents will let you stay up a little later on our vacation."

"That would be fun," Julia said with a nod. She went with him into Eliza's room and said, "Is it okay if I take a bath with her?"

"It'll be quick; if you two want to look at those pictures," Jim replied. When Julia nodded and then rushed out he looked at Eliza and said, "Do you mind?"

"With Jules?" the toddler asked. When he nodded she giggled and shook her head saying, "Wanna see Mommy."

"We will, afterwards," Jim told her. He took her into the bathroom and started to get her undressed before Julia joined them again and did so herself. When the two stepped into the full tub he heard his youngest granddaughter whimper and said, "Is it your knee?"

"Yeah, ouchie Grandpapa," Eliza told him.

"Well it does need to be washed," Jim said. "And after you come out of the water we'll choose a band-aid for you okay?"

"A fun one," Julia suggested.

At her grandfather's nod a smile appeared on Eliza's face and she said, "I want that."

"After," Jim assured her. He then started to wash her hair, trying to make sure Julia could do that at the same time with the showerhead. When they were both cleaned and had managed to play a bit with the washcloths; trying to make them float and bump into each other on the water; he helped them out and dried Eliza off. "Okay," he said when they were both dressed. "Time for your band-aid. You want to help her Julia?"

When her sister set down all the different ones, the toddler studied them before choosing the bright blue colored one and said, "That?"

Picking her up, Jim set her down next to the sink before putting some ointment on the wound and asking, "Does it still hurt?" At the shake of her head, he set the band-aid before helping her brush her teeth. He remembered Julia needed to do the same and turned to tell her when he saw that she'd left. "Okay, looks like we'll have to wait for her to finish up," he said to his granddaughter as he carried her out to her bed.

"Want to see Grandpapa," Eliza protested.

"I know honey but as soon as Julia comes we'll start," Jim said reassuringly.

"I'm here, Macca was coming upstairs so I waited for him," Julia said a bit later, coming in with the dog.

"Did you brush your teeth?" Jim asked her. At her nod he motioned for her to join him and Eliza on the bed and once he had a granddaughter on either side of him he opened his gallery with his uploaded pictures and said, "First, this was your mother when she was a few days old."

"Mommy is small," Eliza said in awe.

"She was a baby too," Jim said in amusement as her expression was the same as her tone. "And she was small."

"You loved her," Julia stated, looking at her sister.

"Of course, both your grandmama and I did," Jim said firmly.

"Grandmama loves Jules?" Eliza asked. At his nod she then smiled and said, "And Grandmama loves me?"

"She does," Jim replied. "But look at this next picture," he said, wanting to change the subject. "This was your mother's first Christmas with us."

Since she had looked at the beginning pictures the night before with her grandfather, Julia only paid half attention to what he was saying until he came to where they'd stopped the night before. She smiled as she looked at the shot of her mother on a pony, not surprised when her little sister squealed at the sight of the horse. "I told you Mommy went riding when she was little," she said.

"Yeah," Eliza said. She suddenly yawned and whimpered when her grandfather turned off his phone. "Grandpapa."

"You're starting to nod off honey," Jim said easily. "Come on, into bed."

Hugging her sister, Eliza said, "Night Jules, love you."

"Love you too Lizzy, night," Julia replied, hugging her back. She then got off the bed before she watched their grandfather hug her.

"I love you Eliza, sweet dreams," Jim told her.

"Night Grandpapa, love you too," Eliza replied quickly before they shared a kiss. She laid back at his direction and sighed as he tucked her in, watching him with wide eyes.

Running his hand over her forehead, Jim pressed his lips to it and then took Julia's hand before they walked after Macca to the doorway. He wasn't surprised when they looked back to find Eliza fast asleep and he ushered Julia to her room.

"You're not closing the door?" the little girl asked him.

"I don't think we're going to be that loud," Jim replied. "We have about twenty minutes, what would you like to do until I tuck you in?"

Julia seemed to think for a moment before she turned and went to her bookshelf, taking out a slightly larger book before going to the bed. "I was thinking about this when we talked about the vacation," she told her grandfather as she gave it to him.

Opening it to the first page, Jim saw the first picture was one he recognized his granddaughter had taken in San Francisco. He waited for her to get on the bed and followed her before he gave the book back to her. He held her against his side as she pointed things out to him, smiling as she seemed to forget that he'd gone with them the last time they'd been in the city. He was startled when Julia suddenly closed the book and he asked her, "You want to go to bed?"

"No," Julia said with a soft giggle. "When we went to San Francisco, what was your favorite thing?"

Jim smiled at that as he guessed that she'd just wanted to tell him about what was in the book and then thought for a moment before telling her, "I think it was probably Fisherman's Wharf. I had fun seeing that again."

"And the sourdough?" Julia asked.

"That too," Jim replied. "And I had a nice time going with you, our tour guide."

Blushing as she recalled how she'd been telling her grandfather about what they were seeing, Julia said, "I was little, I thought you wanted to hear."

"I did," Jim replied, leaning down and kissing her forehead. "And now when we go to Spain, I'll have to be the tour guide for you all."

Smiling at that, Julia asked, "Will you?"

"Well not for everything, my friend Xavi will help me with that," Jim said.

"I have to say thank you when we meet him," Julia said thoughtfully.

"Why would you need to do that?" Jim asked in surprise.

"'Cause he takes care of you when you go," Julia said simply. "That way you come back home okay."

Jim laughed softly and leaned down, kissing the top of her head. "He does help me but I always make sure I can get back home," he said. "For now…" he then began.

Sighing as she knew it was time for her to go to bed with that, Julia let him take the book from her and once he turned back to her she wrapped her arms around his neck. "Did I say I was happy you were here?" she told him.

"You did," Jim said. He pulled back a little to look into her eyes and said seriously, "But I'm happy to hear it again. I love you Julia."

"Love you too Grandpapa," the little girl said, pressing her cheek against his. They parted and she shared a kiss with him before he helped her lay down and she watched him tucking her in before saying, "Night."

"Goodnight honey," Jim replied, leaning over and pressing his lips to the top of her head. He went to the doorway and closed the light, watching his oldest granddaughter for a moment before he left her to sleep.

When he'd gone, Julia shifted a little and then sighed, turning onto her side before she let the sound of Macca's deep breathing help her drift off to sleep.

* * *

"It's, oh, looks like I'm popular tonight," Castle said when he'd started to set his phone down a while after they'd finished talking to their daughters.

"Alexis?" Beckett asked. When he nodded she stood up and then leaned over, kissing his cheek.

Watching as she went upstairs, Castle wanted to tell her that she didn't need to go but remembered their decision to go swimming again to try and relax after that day. He then turned his attention back to his daughter as he answered the phone and started to talk to her.

Changing into her bikini, Beckett could hear outside some laughter and she wondered for a moment if Skye and Mary were in the pool. But she knew the laughter was too high pitched, so she shook her head to concentrate on finishing. Wrapping her sarong around her waist she was startled to come out of the bathroom to see her husband changed into his trunks, putting on his t-shirt. "That was a short conversation," she commented.

"Well Alexis had to study," Castle replied. "For her last final."

As she'd walked up to him then Beckett squeezed his shoulder and said, "We'll have a lot of time this summer with her."

"Yeah that's the best part," Castle replied. "And I think she's ready, just a few things from the loft she'll take to the Hamptons to mail there…"

Hugging him then Beckett kissed his cheek and said, "Let's go."

"Yeah," Castle replied, shaking his mind of the subject as he didn't want to dwell on it too much. He let her take his hand after he grabbed the towels on the bed and when they were outside and around the guest house he said, "It sounds like they're there."

"Then we'll go back and find something else to occupy our time," Beckett replied, going up to the gate in the fence around the pool.

"Hello, decided to join us?" Mary asked, noticing them and walking over to the pool.

"We'd like to, if that's okay with you both," Beckett said with a smile.

A snort leaving her Skye replied, "Didn't think you'd be so shy, come in we've enough room. Pool's quite big I'm sure you noticed."

"I love how you go back and forth between being British and Californian in the way you talk," Beckett couldn't help comment as they went inside and she discarded her wrap on a lounge chair.

"It's how I grew up," Skye said with a shrug. "What is it Marie?" she asked as her oldest was tugging on her hand.

"I want to sit now," the little girl replied.

"Alright go ahead and… oh with me," Skye said before she realized what her daughter wanted. "Why don't we let these two come inside first before we hog the stairs."

"We're not going to take that long," Castle said, going down rapidly before he ducked under the water.

"It's a little warmer for the girls, so that helped," Skye said as she sat down on the top step after Beckett had gone down them. She wrapped her arm around Marie and said in Irish, " _I took your advice_."

" _I can see that_ ," Beckett said with a smile for the little girl who was looking up at her mother nearly adoringly. "Better?"

"Much," Skye said. Hearing her other daughter calling to her twin to race with her she said, "Go on love, see if you and your sister are still evenly matched."

When they were alone at that end of the pool Beckett said, "Is she going to follow in your footsteps?"

"You noticed?" Skye asked with a slight smile.

"Hard not to," Beckett replied. "She was asking you about the flight you're going to be taking. Speaking of that when is it taking place exactly?"

"In the morning," Skye replied. "And I know, they do have school but I've spoken with their teacher and they won't be missing anything really." She then smiled a little wider and said, "Did you think I wouldn't be concerned about that."

Beckett shook her head and then followed her friend's gaze to the others before she said, "But I'm wondering does that mean she wants to be a pilot or an investigator."

"Both," Skye and Beckett said at the same time.

"Yeah she wants to fly a little and then start investigating everything," Skye replied. "Her words not mine."

"The thing that worries me though hearing that…" Beckett started to say.

"She knows but I think right now to her it's just a plane that's broken," Skye said. "And I'd like her to keep thinking that. When she's older then of course we'll have to see what she wants to do."

Nodding Beckett watched as the woman stood up and went down the steps and she couldn't help say, "I always wanted to ask you, why do you wear…"

"Can't quite seem to finish up your statements," Skye said teasingly, looking down at her wet suit-like shirt and trunks. "More comfortable. Mary likes to tease me in this I look the most butch."

"That's not… offensive?" Beckett asked.

"When she says that I take these off, I'm wearing a bikini underneath," Skye replied. "Just more comfortable covered up when we're with the girls."  
"And around men," Beckett said.

"Something like that," Skye said. She then opened her mouth to speak but paused before saying, "Why did you turn into my wife there?"

Knowing that the woman meant the fact that she was acting like a therapist, Beckett said, "I can be observant too."

"Quite," Skye said before she then ducked underneath the water and started to swim to the others as Castle passed her.

"Hey, what were you talking about with her?" he asked when he reached his wife.

"What's it to you?" Beckett shot back. She laughed softly at her husband's slightly startled expression before she went to him and said, "She's interesting."

"I bet you that's what Mary said when she first spoke to her as her therapist," Castle replied.

"It is," the woman said, coming up to them then. "Sorry, girls want to play a little before we step out to go to the Jacuzzi. And I can't really talk about what we spoke of during those sessions, not without her permission."

"That's okay," Beckett said. She then smiled at her husband before she ducked underneath the water without a word to him. She wasn't that surprised to feel him next to her a second later and they swam around Skye and the twins to the other end, hanging on to the end.

"Oh completely forgot, how're your girls?" Skye suddenly asked as she followed her daughters to the shallow end.

"They're fine," Beckett replied. "They had a busy evening with their grandfather."

"Sounds nice," Skye replied. "Well we're playing some volleyball if you'd like to join us."

"We might take you up on that," Castle said, looking at his wife. When she smiled and shook her head he let go of the edge and swam with her over to the others standing in the middle and shallow part of the pool.

"Do you remember how to play?" Kathleen asked the two.

"We've played this a lot with Julia," Castle replied.

"Not with Eliza?" Marie then said.

"She's not tall enough to stand up in the pool yet," Beckett said.

"She doesn't get jealous when you play?" Kathleen said.

"Girls," Mary said in a slightly scolding tone. "Let's start playing because you two need a bath still before we put you to bed."

Though the girls made faces at their mother, Kathleen hit the ball to Skye on the other side of her, Mary and Castle. The game stopped and started as the twins were sometimes unable to hit the ball they were using. After twenty minutes, Skye caught the ball and held onto it as the girls started to complain.

"Enough, we need to go into the Jacuzzi unless you want to just go from here to the house?" she asked them.

"No," the twins sighed at the same time.

"Thanks for playing," Skye said to Castle and Beckett.

"It was fun," Beckett said, watching the girls going as slowly as they could to the steps. "I'm reminded of Julia so much right now," she commented to her husband.

Looking over at them, Castle chuckled slightly under his breath and said, "You're right, I am too."

"Are you getting out too?" Kathleen asked.

"We are," Beckett said.

"We might not all fit," Skye said in warning. "But I don't usually submerge myself in there."

"Then we should fit," Mary pointed out to her wife.

"Okay," Skye said, giving her a look. She sat on the edge of the small pool and watched the girls get in before Mary joined them.

"How long do we get to stay?" Marie asked her mothers.

"Ten minutes only," Skye answered before her wife could. "You do have school you two."

"Did you miss this when you were gone love?" Mary asked in amusement.

"Oh, immensely," Skye replied. She glanced then at Beckett and said, "You're the mother of a nine year old, does that ever stop?"

"Do you remember ever stopping your protests to go to bed when your dad told you?" Beckett replied instead of answering.

"That's a valid point," Skye said. "So we have quite a ways to go with this _grá_."

"I think we do," Mary said laughingly.

"What are you talking about Mommy?" Kathleen asked.

"Just about how kids are in general," Castle said before Mary could reply to that.

"Oh… boring," Marie said.

"That's how grownups can be," Skye replied before she helped her out to sit with her. "All of a sudden I'm popular," she commented as she helped Kathleen up next. "Are you girls happy I'm back?" she asked as she rubbed their arms while they hugged her.

"A lot," Kathleen replied as her twin nodded firmly on the other side of their mother.

"So am I," Skye replied.

Wrapping his arm around Beckett's shoulder, Castle watched the family across from them before Mary told the twins they needed to go to the house. He shared a smile with his wife as the two were quick to object again but finally acquiesced and got out.

"I'll catch you up love," Skye said to her wife as she walked her going to get her towel with their daughters. She waited until the three were on their way up to the house and then got in with Castle and Beckett.

"Anything?" Beckett said immediately as she was able to guess why the woman had rejoined them.

"Yes, they managed to eliminate Doris Bostick," Skye told them. "I got a text when we were on the way home; this was the first chance I had to tell you two about it."

"And the other two names?" Castle asked.

"They're having a harder time, they needed to ask the FBI for assistance on that," Skye replied. "Tomorrow morning they should have something."

"Get some rest," Beckett told her as she stood up.

"You too," Skye replied, looking at the two of them. "Thank you again," she said, putting her hand on Beckett's arm.

"I think you should wait until the case is solved," Castle said. "But you're welcome still… or was that not directed at me?"

"It was," Skye said, shaking her head as Beckett sighed slightly. "Goodnight."

"Night," Beckett and Castle told her.

When they were alone Castle said, "Think we should head inside?"

"We should," Beckett replied, taking his hand then. She pulled him to their towels and she sat down while she looked at her phone that she'd brought out.

"What?" Castle asked, watching her look slightly taken aback before she frowned.

"It's a text from Julia," Beckett replied.

"She should be asleep," Castle said, frowning himself. "It's not an emergency," he stated since he knew she would have reacted far differently if it had been.

"No, she said she wants to talk," Beckett said. "Luckily that was only a minute ago." She got up and went with Castle to the guesthouse before she turned to him and started to say, "I think she-"

"Wants to talk to you, I know," Castle replied with a nod. "If she actually wants me there too…"

"I'll call you," Beckett promised. She brushed her lips to his before going up the stairs and sitting on the window seat after she'd wrapped her towel around herself. When her daughter answered she began to say, "Sweetie, it's me, do-"

"Can we go to video Mommy?" Julia asked quickly.

"Of course," Beckett replied, doing so with her phone. As soon as she saw her daughter she said, "Oh Julia, you had a nightmare didn't you?"

"I did," the little girl said, sniffing then. "I wanted to see you."

"It was about me," Beckett said. When Julia nodded again she then said, "Do you want to tell me about it?"

"I don't remember anything but… you were hurt," Julia replied, a slightly fearful tone to her voice. "It scared me 'cause Daddy wasn't with you, no one was."

"I'm okay sweetie," Beckett said gently. "And I'm being careful out here, you know that."

"I know," Julia sighed. She rubbed some tears off her cheek and said, "Is Daddy there?"

Beckett was about to call to Castle to bring him upstairs but when she turned over to the staircase she smiled as she saw that he was entering the room. "He's right here, did you want to talk to him?" she asked their oldest.

"Hi Daddy," Julia said when the screen started to move before she saw him.

"Hey, I heard your mother from downstairs," Castle told her. "Are you okay?"

"I am, you're gonna make sure Mommy doesn't do anything too dangerous right?" Julia asked.

"Of course," Castle said reassuringly. "You know I always do that anyways. So you don't need to worry."

"Now you should get some sleep," Beckett told her.

"I'll put her back to bed," Jim said suddenly, appearing behind the little girl then.

"Thank you Dad," Beckett replied. "Sweet dreams Julia, remember we love you."

"A lot," Castle was quick to add.

Smiling at that, Julia murmured that she loved them before saying goodbye and once the screen was back to her screen picture of Paul, she looked at her grandfather and said, "Sorry I woke you up."

"Don't worry," Jim assured her. "I was still awake, reading a little to see if I could fall asleep."

Nodding, Julia felt him wrapping his arms around her and then pressed her cheek to his shoulder. She felt him stroke her hair and she shuddered saying, "I didn't like not seeing what was going on."

"I know but it was just a nightmare honey," Jim replied.

Pulling back a little and sighing, Julia asked plaintively, "Can I get some water Grandpapa?"

"Will you try and sleep after?" Jim said. When the little girl nodded he helped her off the bed and took her downstairs to the kitchen where he let her climb onto one of the chairs at the island.

Julia watched as he went to get a glass before filling it with water for her. "Grandpapa?" she asked.

"Here, drink before you ask that question," Jim replied as he went to her and handed her the glass.

Taking a sip, Julia then said, "Did Mommy ever get nightmares?"

"She did," Jim replied. "And you're wondering what she did when that happened?" At his granddaughter's nod he said, "When she was little, younger than you, she would go to her mother. But a few times her mother was able to go to her before she got up."

"She had mommy powers?" Julia asked with a smile.

"She did. And I helped her too but more often it was your grandmama," Jim said.

"I bet that's where Mommy learned how to be good at that," Julia said absently, taking another sip.

"Your grandmama was a great mother," Jim said simply.

"Yeah, Mommy would learn to be the best mommy from her," Julia said with a nod. She smiled a little as she handed the glass to him and said, "Thank you."

"Do you feel better?" Jim asked, helping her down.

"I do," Julia replied as he went over to the stairs. "Eliza is still asleep?"

"She is, I checked on her when I heard you talking to your mom," Jim said. "But honey if you have another nightmare while your parents are gone you can wake me up okay?"

"I will," Julia replied, sounding tired.

Jim took her over to her bed and helped her under the covers before tucking her back in.

"Love you Grandpapa," Julia told him as she held her Stitch doll to her.

"Love you too Julia," Jim said, kissing her forehead before he left.

Looking at Macca who'd gone back to sleep after she had gotten back into the bed, Julia smiled a little before she closed her eyes. She knew that her parents would be there for her if she needed them, even with them so far away, so she fell asleep feeling far better knowing that she wasn't alone again.

* * *

"Okay love?" Castle asked once her father had hung up Julia's phone.

"Yeah, I just wish I could have been there for her," Beckett said with a slight sigh. She set down her phone and said, "And Eliza. But I know already there's no way we could have known this was going to happen to them."

"It's part of being a parent," Castle said.

"That happened with Alexis?" Beckett asked him.

"It did, usually her having a nightmare," Castle replied. "Luckily Mother was good at comforting her when I wasn't there."

"My dad is too," Beckett said, smiling a little at that. "She should be okay."

"She will," Castle said. He watched her stand up and said, "Shower?"

"On my own if-" Beckett started to say.

"I wouldn't do anything, it'd just be a shower," Castle said. When he saw his wife looking at him disbelievingly he said, "I'm serious love."

Studying him for a moment more, Beckett then smiled and reached out to him so he'd take her hand. When he did she let him pull her to the bathroom and she wrapped her arms around him once she'd closed the door behind them.

"I thought you didn't-" Castle started to say in surprise after she'd brushed her lips to his.

"I don't, just this…" Beckett said. She was pleased when her husband quickly kissed her after she'd trailed off, and she held onto him tighter when he carefully slipped his tongue past her lips. When they could finally pull apart to breathe she smiled and said, " _That's enough for now_."

"I had a feeling… wait, you said for now?" Castle asked in surprise as he watched her walk away to the shower. When she didn't reply to that he groaned slightly under his breath and followed her over to help her out of her bikini.

Beckett had been slightly hesitant teasing her husband with that but she was pleasantly surprised when he didn't really try to do anything to her while they rinsed off in the shower. And even when he was helping her dry off he still didn't try and she had to smile a little as he left her in the bedroom, realizing quickly that he was suppressing his desire. But that soon fell off her face and she went over to the window seat, sitting down and picking up her phone which she'd left there. She then opened her gallery and went straight to her pictures of the girls, smiling at one of Julia and Eliza sitting on the end of a slide at one of the playgrounds at home. She scrolled through the next few, stopping at one that she'd taken, of the girls with their father on Halloween the year before.

"Those were pretty nice costumes," a voice said above her, startling her. "Sorry," Castle said. "I was wondering what you were doing before I saw the flick of your finger and that smile."

"That smile?" Beckett asked. She had to laugh softly and asked, "Do I have one for the girls?"

"You do," Castle replied, handing her a mug of coffee. "You're not feeling guilty are you?"

"Not in the sense that we abandoned them, because we didn't," Beckett replied. She took a sip and said, "More in the fact that we left and we're missing these days with them." She frowned and said, "What if Eliza learns how to spell another word or… Julia learns a complete dance for the Cha-Cha-Cha and we're not there to see it? I have to admit I'm terrified that makes me a helicopter parent."

"I don't think it does," Castle replied. When she glanced to him he then said, "First, I feel the same as you. And second if you were that you'd be hanging around them both everywhere, trying to control their lives, which we don't."

"I worry about turning into that with wanting to be around them so much," Beckett tried to explain.

"No, I understand," Castle replied, wrapping his arm around her as he sipped from his mug. "But I don't think you'll go that way, I couldn't do that to them. It'd make them miserable and I think you've thought of that already."

"I have," Beckett said with a smile. "Is that your way of trying to tell me that I won't become one because I make sure I don't."

"It wasn't that articulate for me was it? I should be worried," Castle replied. He felt his wife kissing his cheek and then said, "But we're their mother and father, we should want to spend time with them. I was glad to get home after we went to Michipicoten."

"So was I," Beckett replied. She shared a look with him and then said, "We'll be home soon."

"We will, in the meantime," Castle told her, nodding to her phone. "What else do you have on there?"

"What, apps?" Beckett asked jokingly.

"Sure, we can play… pictures love, what pictures," Castle replied in mock exasperation.

"A lot of these you have too," Beckett warned him.

"Doesn't matter, I want to be reminded of them right now," Castle told her. He looked down at the screen and said, "Mother did a great job with those costumes."

"Funny Julia wanted them to be Blue Meanies," Beckett replied. "I wonder if she was serious about the _Yellow Submarine_ idea."

"Probably," Castle said, laughing as he spoke. When his wife leaned against him a little he held her a little more tightly to him before they turned their attention to the next picture she scrolled to on the screen.

"I wonder sometimes that neither one of them likes to take my phone that much," Beckett commented as the picture was a selfie that Julia had taken with her sister on the beach.

"As opposed to mine?" Castle asked. "I think they know your phone is off limits unless you say so while mine is free to play with."

Beckett shook her head, smiling a little at that before she said, "I think we should."

"I do too," Castle said, knowing she was referring to them staying longer whenever the case was finished. "A day at the beach house would be interesting but notice I'm saying only a day."

"Well since you said that first off it wasn't hard to," Beckett said, shaking her head. She went to the next picture and replied, "Then we find them some shells for their rooms there but I get the feeling they're going to be happier seeing us than those."

"You almost said you hoped they would," Castle said. When his wife didn't answer, going to the next picture he said, "You were never like that."

"No," Beckett said, knowing already that he was referring to her rebelling against her parents. "I might not have conformed to everything they wanted me to but in no way did I hate them. I'm hoping Julia might be the same."

"You already think Eliza would be," Castle said.

"There's a chance, she's half my daughter," Beckett replied, looking at him out of the corner of her eye.

"Same with Julia," Castle replied. "She knows you're her mother. And you're raising them both as your mother raised you right?"

"To a degree," Beckett said. "Not fully of course. My mother had my father to help her."

"So… good or bad?" Castle asked. When his wife turned back again to her phone he said, "Oh no you don't, Kate."

Since her name had been said in a slightly stern tone of voice, Beckett turned to him and said, "Why should I answer?"

"Alright so you don't need to," Castle said. "But hearing it from you is nice instead of me saying it in my head."

"You say it that often in your head that we're good parents," Beckett asked him, one eyebrow slightly raised.

"All the time," Castle replied seriously. When his wife pinched his side he grunted a little and let her take back her phone before he wrapped his arm back around her. "That was fun," he said when he saw the next picture; of them with their daughters at a pumpkin patch near the Hamptons. "We should do that this year."

"They're probably going to ask that we go," Beckett said in amusement as she recalled how Eliza had run around the best she could, looking at all the pumpkins. "Do you remember when she was a year old, that Halloween?"

"I do, I'm so glad Julia was watching her or she really would have gotten her head stuck in that pumpkin," Castle said in remembrance. "I thought the insides would have disgusted her. Though considering she tried to eat them… maybe I should have known better. Do you have those pictures here?"

"No, I only have some," Beckett replied. "And I only go a year back," she told him. "Or else I'd end up having no room for newer ones." She soon came to a picture of Eliza holding Julia's hand; the latter dressed in her Jive costume.

"So glad I made it to that competition," Castle said as he remembered which one it had been easily. "I hope though, she wins first at least once."

"Second is still good," Beckett said. When she looked at her husband and saw that he was just looking at her she smiled and said, "Yes, first would be nice of course. Though I'm not planning on becoming one of those dance moms."

"If you haven't already I don't think you will be," Castle said. The next few pictures were of Julia dancing and he said, "I heard what you were talking with Skye about." At her look to him he told her, "About Marie following her footsteps."

Smiling at that, Beckett said, "And what made you mention that?"

"Just the thought that I don't get the idea that either of the girls will follow us," Castle said.

"As what, a detective or writer?" Beckett asked.

"The former," Castle replied. "Though they're going to know we work with Brad and the Hamptons PD, I don't get the feeling they'll want to do the same."

"Well we're already aware that Julia won't," Beckett said, looking down at the picture on the screen. "Since she asked us if she'd have to think of murders for her book if she does more than the one we're working on."

"The relief on her face when we told her it was better not to was pretty amazing," Castle said. "And that was when I knew we'd have a dancer in the family… how far that'll go…"

"And where that'll go," Beckett replied. "Though you know I asked her about going to Julliard."

"What did she say?" Castle asked, startled to hear that. "Also when did you ask her?"

"It was a couple weeks ago, when she was practicing in her room," Beckett explained. "I talked to her about going there but she said she wasn't sure yet about that school. You know Ms. Grey wasn't trained there."

"She was in London," Castle reminded his wife.

"And I told you, if it came to that… I would let her go but not until she was older," Beckett said.

"She wouldn't go," Castle said. "She's too attached to her family; she'd want to stay with us."

"That's what I'm thankful for," Beckett said with a nod before breathing out. "Eliza it's too soon," she then said, bringing back the subject of their daughters and what they might do when older.

"Yeah, I would say she'd be a writer with her being able to play by herself really well," Castle said. "The stories I hear her making up are pretty imaginative but then again she's already getting into photography and horses. Who knows, she might be an Olympic equestrienne."

"That needs to be seen," Beckett replied simply though she was smiling. "But we're agreed right? Whatever our daughters want to do, we'll support them."

"Absolutely," Castle said as soon as she's finished. He leaned down and kissed her temple before he reached down and went to the next picture on the screen for her.

As the next few pictures were of Eliza, Beckett said with a slight smile, "Do you remember my wondering if we'd take pictures of her?"

"As many as we did of Julia?" Castle asked. When his wife nodded he replied, "I do and you have to remember she is our first in a way as well." He then saw a slightly troubled look coming to Beckett's face and he quickly said, "Do you have any other pictures in here?"

Smiling at that and a little grateful that he was changing the subject so obviously, Beckett handed him the phone so he could go to her gallery.

"Huh," Castle said.

"What?" Beckett replied, looking at him.

"I have a lot more pictures of us than you do," Castle told her.

"That's because when we take selfies they're usually with your phone," Beckett pointed out to him. She then heard a sound and said, "Are you playing a game?"

"Just one round- you're no fun," Castle said when she took her phone back.

"We were looking at pictures Rick," Beckett replied. She closed the game and then went back to her gallery, surprised to see he'd been looking at their wedding pictures in the folder. "Any reason?" she asked him, holding up her phone slightly.

"Not really, just because," Castle said. She just kept looking at him with the same disbelieving expression on her face, so he sighed and told her, "Okay, I may be thinking of next year."

"Do you want to start planning it now?" Beckett said.

"I have just one question," Castle replied. "A big ceremony or small?"

"You mean do I want the same number of people as our wedding or less," Beckett corrected him. When he inclined his head once she said, "Less, I don't want this to be a big thing like that, I just want us to renew our vows. So our closest friends and of course our family."

"I'm wondering," Castle told her. "If we should ask someone at a Hindu temple to do a blessing of the rings for us."

"Do they do that?" Beckett asked.

"I have no clue but we could ask," Castle said. "I just say that because of…" he trailed off, running his thumb under his band.

"I know," Beckett replied. She looked thoughtful for a moment before saying, "What if we waited to go to India to do that?"

"Oh sure that would make it pretty… spiritual," Castle said. "What?" he asked as he saw the way his wife was looking at him.

"Nothing," Beckett said simply. When his hand suddenly squeezed on her waist she smiled and said, "I thought you were going to say magical. But that might be because instead I think we should search around Adare and see if there is still anyone that is practicing druidism."

"That might be tough to find," Castle pointed out. "But I like the idea. I have to wonder too though, if they'd bless our rings… But they're pure silver so it's still part of the earth… I'll start looking at some point into that. I have time."

"You do," Beckett said with a slight laugh. She then noticed that her husband was studying her and she asked, "What?"

"I just realized I should be surprised you suggested that," Castle said.

"Maybe you're rubbing off on me," Beckett said, starting to get up. She was a little startled when her husband suddenly grabbed her hand, pulling her down to sit next to him again, his hand cupping her cheek as he stared into her eyes. "I didn't mean it like that," she said, her heart already starting to pound heavily in response to him.

"I didn't take it as meaning that," Castle said. He searched her face before he then leaned down, taking her lips with his own. He carefully kissed her that time and then slowly pulled away from her, wanting to see what she would do next.

A little startled at the simplicity of that kiss, Beckett bit her lower lip for a moment before she put down her phone next to her. She wrapped her arms around him and kissed him, holding onto him tightly as he responded. That one held only a little more pressure than the kiss preceding it and she was surprised when he followed her lead with it. She wasn't sure what she wanted exactly then as she knew she could easily deepen it but her body seemed to decide for her as she didn't kiss him any harder until they were carefully parting.

Leaning down slightly to press his forehead against hers, Castle murmured against her lips, "I didn't plan-"

"Neither did I," Beckett said before he could finish, knowing what he meant.

"So," Castle started to say, pulling away a little so he could look into her eyes.

"So," Beckett replied, smiling then as he looked a little startled.

"Damn it," Castle murmured before he closed the gap between them yet again, taking her lips. He felt her responding to his kiss and he held her closer against him, a little awkwardly since they were side by side. But he didn't stop, slipping his tongue into her mouth to lightly roll around her own before they parted again. Breathing a little hard he moved down to her jaw and there he pressed his lips against the skin, very carefully and gently, hearing his wife breathing heavily in response to him.

Trying not to voice her disappointment when he moved to her neck, Beckett was soon rewarded with his lips against her pulse. But he merely brushed them against it and she couldn't help smiling, knowing they'd set the tone of their night with that action as she couldn't see it in herself to stop him. "Rick," she said then to get his attention.

Raising his head, Castle took her lips and though he knew that wasn't why she'd said his name, he didn't feel any kind of protest. That kiss was a little deeper and he felt his wife moving, as if to search him out and bring him closer to her. "I want you," he said, his voice husky when they'd broken apart after the second kiss, both of them breathing heavily.

"I realized that," Beckett replied with a smile. She then brushed her lips to his and whispered against them, " _If you could tell, you'd see I want you too_."

Shuddering at her tone of voice, Castle said, " _Badly_?"

" _Very_ ," Beckett replied. " _Every second you_ -" Before she could finish that he was kissing her and she was quick to respond to him, holding onto him as tightly as she could, feeling his hands slide up and down her back a few times as she'd turned the best she could to face him. When they parted she watched his hands go down to the hem of her NYPD shirt then pull it up over her head. She shivered for a moment at the difference in temperature that was sudden but didn't linger in thinking about it as she then grabbed his dark blue t-shirt.

"I have a confession to make love," Castle told her as he watched her place her hands on his chest. "I'd like to get up."

"Me too," Beckett replied, doing so as soon as she'd said that. She wasn't too surprised when her husband didn't move and instead made her turn around to face him. "Can I help you?" she asked in a serious tone, raising her eyebrow at him.

Not saying anything in response to that, Castle placed his hands on her hips and looked up at her as he carefully pulled her pajama pants down. He only broke their gaze to help her step out of them and then stood up with her. "You're hard to resist," he told her.

"So you've said before," Beckett replied as she was looking down in between them to take off his pants. "But it would be nice to see you prove that."

Smiling at that, Castle led her over to the bed and once she was lying in the middle of it he joined her, above her as he kissed her again. The way she pulled on his head to get him to her he guessed that she would have kissed him if he'd given her the chance. That thought left his mind in a rush though when her leg suddenly slung around him and she pulled him down. Though they weren't naked he could still feel the heat of her sex through the fabric blocking them from one another. "Love," he murmured when they had parted.

"Hurry," Beckett told him. She was surprised when instead of moving he kissed her hard and she had to hurry a little to be able to catch up with him. But she was soon able to do so and they dueled frantically in her mouth before she wrenched away from his lips. "I didn't mean that," she told him, sounding a little frustrated.

Again Castle didn't respond to her and leaned down, kissing her that time and merely brushing his lips against hers. He then moved down to her neck and did the same with his lips before sliding down further. He looked up at her as he kissed around her pendant, feeling her soon cupping his cheek with her hand. He allowed himself to turn and kiss at her palm briefly before moving downward again.

Beckett held her breath as she felt her husband's lips sliding down her skin until he reached the hem of her panties. She raised her hips for him the second he moved to start pulling them off and she watched him kiss his way up her right leg before moving to the inside of her thigh as she'd parted them when he'd turned aside for a moment. She knew where he was by the spark of fire he set off touching her and when he reached her sex she was nearly frozen in preparation for him.

Though he knew what Beckett was doing as he could feel her movements around him Castle didn't pause, instead he leaned down, kissing around her folds and trying not to shudder too hard at the feel of how aroused she was. He pulled away then and moved up to her clit where he moved her hand, not surprised she was trying not to touch herself but failing. He kissed her fingertips before going back down to the apex of her legs and he carefully flicked his tongue out against the swollen nub. He took her legs and draped them up over his shoulders before taking it into his mouth, gently sucking on it and rubbing his tongue along it. He heard her cries and felt a rush of arousal at the sound of it as that never seemed to get old for him. He tried not to linger there as he wanted to try and push her as far as he could but it was difficult before finally he was pulling away from her after he'd stimulated her clit for a while. Taking a breath he looked at his wife and saw that she'd put his pillow and hers together under her and knowing she was watching what she could of him he descended rapidly once more.

Feeling her husband's hands stroking at the tops of her thighs Beckett didn't have much time to prepare herself for his tongue slipping inside of her and the second she felt him she tried pressing back against the mattress. "Oh god… Rick," she moaned, hearing her voice was deep with her pleasure as she felt him quickly starting to try to roll his tongue around. His fingers were on her clit and she grasped the bed below her as hard as she could as the sensation of him gently stroking her there was swift to add to what she was already feeling. She wasn't sure how long he was doing that but at some point he pulled away from her and she reached up to him to try and stop him.

"You don't want more?" Castle asked, a little surprised. He was further startled when something in his wife's expression changed and a second later he was being grabbed before his back was hitting the bed. "Kate?" he said as he realized then what that glint in her eye had been.

"I don't want that but… I just need you to feel what you did to me," Beckett replied, tossing her hair back over her shoulders while she was pulling his boxers down until she tossed them over the side of the bed. As soon as they were discarded she was lying down, taking his erection into her mouth, hearing his loud hiss of her name before he was cupping the back of her head. A part of her wanted to smile at his reaction but she found she couldn't she was too concerned with setting a rhythm on him, careful to pay attention to how he was reacting to her.

Grunting with every pass down of her mouth, Castle wasn't sure what had kept him from tangling his fingers through her hair. But all of a sudden; though he had no concept of time passing; he felt Beckett pulling away and starting to descend. "No," he told her, sitting up and making her do the same. When she slowly smirked he groaned and held her against him saying, "You're going to kill me Kate."

"Not if I can help it," Beckett whispered to him, sliding her hands on the back of his neck. She smirked and then pulled away, giving him a peck on the lips before she lay down. When he turned to her as she lay where he'd been, she was a little startled at the change of emotion in his eyes and said, "Rick?" putting her question into his name.

Castle heard what she didn't voice but he didn't respond to that as he carefully tucked a pillow below her hips. That done, he got on top of her though not directly and kissed her, feeling her leaning up into him slightly as her legs wrapped around his waist. That ended the tangle their lips were in and he breathed out saying, "You… want me to fuck you?"

"No, just…" Beckett started to say before a slow smile spread across her lips. "Let me feel you love."

Shuddering as he knew what that would entail, Castle very carefully slid inside of her body, breathing out as she gasped and held onto him more securely. "Lay back," he instructed her. Once she was back fully on the bed he was within her completely and with that he began to move, not wanting to delay as their pleasuring each other had pushed them greatly. He groaned while she moaned his name at the first motion he made and he tried to set up his pace as fast as he could. Since it was slower he found his pleasure more workable and once he had he looked down at his wife. She was moving with him and he could tell that she was trying to look in between their bodies. He leaned down a little then and when she had tilted her head up to him he murmured, " _You feel amazing my love_ ," before he kissed her.

With the intensity of that kiss Beckett had no chance to respond to him and she wouldn't until he had pulled away from her. That took some time as they were both engaged in what could have been a war between their tongues if they hadn't been enjoying it as much as they were. When they pulled away from one another with a heavy gasp she said, " _Keep moving_ Rick, _it'll feel so much better_ ," nearly smiling at his very obvious shudder as she knew how much her 'instructing' him was a turn on for him, more so when it was said in Irish. Since her arms were wrapped around him already she tried to pull him down closer to her but he wouldn't budge and she groaned out her frustration, unable to help it. She saw that he was about to ask what she wanted when she started to try to move. She was nearly shocked when her husband grabbed her wrists with his right hand and moved them up above her head. "You-" she started to say.

"Not yet," Castle said simply. He knew he should let go of her hands but he couldn't do it as he was enjoying watching her breasts and the way they were moving in time with her body. He was outright staring; unable to stop himself; until he felt her hands trying to break free of his hold. He looked up at her face at that point and saw from her expression that what they were doing wasn't enough. Letting her go he held onto her hip tightly before he carefully thrust in her slower and more deliberately. When she moved to grab the sides of the pillow under her head he did that a few more times until finally moving to place his knees on the bed.

Beckett was tempted to breathe out in relief at that move as she'd wanted to try to do that herself. But in the next second her husband's mouth was descending on her breast and she was distracted with the sudden rush of heat that snapped directly to her sex where he was still inside. She then started to move, thinking that would be a distraction and also because it was instinct; her body screaming for it. On her knees she could move very well but after a few up and down motions she suddenly started to roll her hips and felt her husband's reaction as he faltered in his answering thrusts and gripped the small of her back. She could have confessed to him that she felt powerful in that moment, holding his pleasure in her hands, but instead she leaned down as he pulled away from her breast and kissed him.

Reaching up and cupping her face with his hands Castle did the best he could to thrust within her still while she was rolling her hips. The motion was hard to achieve without the leverage of his hands on the bed as before but he decided after a few motions of her around him it didn't matter. He was nearly dizzy as her sex was sliding around him with how slick she was and she was almost burning hot, making him run his hands down from her cheeks to her back, holding on tightly to her there, not realizing he was stroking her. All he knew was what he was feeling and when they parted from another kiss; unsure how many that had been; he whispered to her almost deliriously.

Unable to help falter as her husband was telling her what exactly he could feel; Beckett stopped and moved away from him to make him get out of her way so she could lie down. But instead of doing that she suddenly found herself pressed up against the headboard. "Like this?" she asked, her eyes slightly wide as they usually didn't use that position when they were making love. Her answer was his lips on her shoulder and his member slipping within her, making her reach back and hold onto the back of his head before he began to move. "Rick…" she moaned in her joy at the feel of him.

"You… do you want me to stop?" Castle asked, loving the tone of her voice as she soon managed to meet him thrust for thrust since he wasn't going that fast again.

"No I need… to feel you," Beckett breathed. She wasn't sure if she'd said more than that but when her husband started to kiss around her shoulder and neck wildly she guessed whatever she'd said was enough. She almost jumped when his hands suddenly came around her and covered her breasts, making his palms rub against her nipples. She moaned and she might have cursed but her heart was pounding in her ears so hard that she wasn't sure if she had. When he slid them around to start pinching her nipples she was arching her back against him and whispering his name, her voice intense with her pleasure. She could feel his chin rest on her shoulder and when she managed to glance at him saw that he was watching what he was doing. Her eyes shut tightly at the sudden jolt of arousal realizing that was almost too much for her. It was then she decided they needed to stop again and she reached around him, digging her nails into his back to get him to do so though she was dreading that moment.

Not needing to hear a word from her Castle seemed to be able to guess what Beckett wanted, stopping as she was, and how she wanted it. He helped her lay down that time and with the pillow back underneath her hips he moved to enter her. But she stopped him by curling her hand around his erection carefully, making him freeze instantly. "Kate," he gasped out as she led him to her. Luckily he wasn't too far and back within her he immediately began to thrust again. He went a little faster than before and just barely managed to keep from fucking her as he wanted to keep with the pace they'd set from the beginning. Watching her closely he saw the way her body was starting to undulate beneath him and he tried to resist the temptation to move any harder within her. But thinking that he had a sudden idea and placed his hand under the small of her back to tilt her up towards him.

When she felt Castle thrusting in a down motion as straight as he could, Beckett couldn't stop the cry that left her lips in reaction, almost feeling as if her clit was being slapped under his skin. It took very little more to make her break and she threw her head back as hard as she could while her back was arching up against him. She nearly yelled out his name before she moaned out, "Don't stop Rick, please… please make me come again!" She felt him suddenly reaching his peak with her while she was speaking and she wrapped her legs tighter around them than they'd been before, stroking the back of his head as her orgasm seemed to continue with his, hearing him groaning her name repeatedly.

Castle came back to himself as his climax started to wind down and he was going to move faster but then held himself back. "Kate, let me-" he started to say.

"Fuck me Rick," Beckett begged him, not caring that she had done that. A second later he started to thrust harder and she cried out, holding onto him so tightly that her nails started to dig into his back. She started to match him as soon as she could feel how fast he was moving exactly and when their bodies began to meet with an audible slap she kissed him, searching for some kind of distraction.

Knowing what his wife was doing, Castle allowed her that as he could feel her drawing him with her towards the edge. He wasn't sure if it took long to reach that moment again, not really caring as he was suddenly distracted from his thoughts on time by her body writhing against him. He tried to move harder against her, their hips slamming into each other so much so he could feel it and hear it at the same time. The sensation of his wife's orgasm was enough to set him off shortly after and he started to say her name repeatedly as he buried his face against her neck, feeling her pulse racing against his lips.

Breathing harshly when she gave a last hard shudder against him Beckett collapsed almost weakly to the bed, wrapping her arms around him tightly while he slowed down. But a few more rapid thrusts of his hips made her gasp until he stopped, slumped against her before she could feel him trying to push up with his hands to get off her. "I was thinking to get some sleep," she said when she felt strong enough to speak as he looked down at her.

Smiling at that, Castle leaned down to kiss her gently before he said, "I was too but… hard to resist you when I know you're half naked."

"Pervert," Beckett said jokingly before she kissed him on the lips quickly before he pulled away from her. She waited for him to lie down on his back and as soon as he was she started to move to go to him when she suddenly turned to the edge of the bed.

"What?" Castle asked in surprise as he watched her go over to the window seat.

"I want this nearby," Beckett replied as she came back with her phone. She set it down on the nightstand on her side before getting back on the bed with him. She looked at him as he held the cover up for her and she leaned over when she could, kissing him sensuously before she waited for him to lay down again. "I hope that things finish tomorrow," she said.

"For our sake or theirs?" Castle asked.

"Mainly Skye's," Beckett told him in a matter of fact tone. "It's been hard on her." When her husband didn't reply to that she looked up at him in the light still on from the lamp on the other nightstand and asked, "What?"

"I'm wondering if I should be annoyed or turned on that you're thinking of another woman when we're like-" Castle started to say before she punched him on the side, making him exhale loudly. "So the former right?"

"No, just stop being a guy for a second," Beckett said, turning almost onto her stomach and reaching across him with her right arm, her hand on his shoulder.

"Hard to do love," Castle said, turning his head and pressing his lips to her forehead. "But I agree with what you said. I hope this isn't going to affect her for the flight."

"I bet you anything that she'll be incredibly happy when she is flying," Beckett replied. "Kind of like how I am on a horse."

Castle expected her to continue speaking but when she didn't he said, "Are you okay?"

"No now it's feeling a little weird we're talking about her when we're like this," Beckett replied.

"Okay, then… it was nice?" Castle said, pretending to sound hesitant. "Why!" he said in complaint when she pinched his side.

"If you're that doubtful then I'd have to show you again it was a lot more than that," Beckett said, pretending to be annoyed as she turned over onto her side, away from him.

"Oh I agree, far more," Castle said, going over to her. He was surprised when she suddenly turned her head to look at him and he asked, "Now what?"

"You did that to trick me into saying that," Beckett said in protest.

"Not that exactly…" was all that Castle had time to say before his wife turned fully onto her other side and then lunged at him. He laughed as he was trying to hold her back, somehow able to do it before he got her on the bed. When he realized that it shouldn't have been that easy to accomplish he said, "Now who's tricking who?" as he held her hands up on either side of her head.

"Not tricking just… leading," Beckett said somberly before she smiled at him.

Groaning Castle leaned down and kissed her, being very careful that he didn't push her too hard with that since he knew she was likely feeling as tired as he was. When they parted he pressed his forehead against hers and said, "I still want you."

"At a later time?" Beckett asked with a smile since she couldn't feel him fully aroused though his body was pressing close to hers.

"Exactly," Castle said, letting her go so she could lay down on her side. He wrapped his arm around her as he was lying on his back and said, "So I finally did it."

"What?" Beckett asked, running her fingertips along his collarbone.

"Made love to you in LA, more than once," Castle replied. He expected a physical reaction to that but was startled when he looked at her and only saw a smile on his wife's lips. "Kate?"

"What?" Beckett asked, surprised that he seemed concerned. "I know what you're talking about Rick and while we're technically in Santa Monica; we were at that hotel too; I can understand what you mean." She sighed then as he lay back down and murmured, "I was close."

"I know," Castle replied since they'd talked about that night before. "God love, imagine if you'd have come out to me," he said in amazement. "What would you have done, a long distance break up?" he asked, something he hadn't before.

"I think I would have had to, if you had been like you were our first time," Beckett said, running a path with her first two fingers over what she could feel of his collarbone. "But that would have been a problem," she murmured as he leaned over to press his lips to her forehead. "I couldn't do that even though I wasn't in love."

"I had that thought that night, trying to fall asleep," Castle assured her. "It was why I knew you would be a great girlfriend, you were very loyal."

"Hmm, I am," Beckett said with a sigh.

"Kate," Castle said then, reaching under her chin to make her tilt her head up. When she had he kissed her deeply and gently slipped his tongue into her mouth before they were rolling together there for a while. He stroked hers before they had to breathe and when they were relaxed he reached over to the lamp to his left, turning it off. "Night love, I adore you," he told her seriously.

"I love you too Rick," Beckett said with a slight smile as she pressed closer against him while he straightened the sheet over them before holding her with both arms.

A last, brief kiss and Castle and Beckett were soon falling asleep, nearly embracing one another as they were doing so. Though they still felt the guilt of their distance from their daughters and had the case a weight on them as well they were resting serenely as their bodies still rang with their satiation. It was a relief to both as they knew they still had more to come the next day in helping their friends find closure.


	9. Without A Shadow Of A Doubt

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The title of this chapter is a lyric from the song Queenie Eye by Paul McCartney and Paul Epworth, from McCartney's album New.

Turning slightly Castle could hear the sound of his wife shifting next to him and he finally gave up, opening his eyes to see that she was turning over on her side. "Hey," he said, seeing she looked a little tired. "Did you sleep okay?"

"Yeah, just didn't feel like it was enough," Beckett sighed, lying on her back as she'd grabbed her phone from the nightstand.

"Need some coffee?" Castle asked, helping her sit up against her pillows.

"In a second, I got a text message," Beckett replied. Opening the message, she read to him, " _We slept good last night and will talk to you later with Alexis_."

"I'm relieved to see that she's okay after last night," Castle replied. "So I'll ignore the grammar there."

"Rick," Beckett said warningly.

"What?" Castle asked, laughing as she pushed his shoulder lightly.

"I know she's writing a book now," Beckett replied. "But seriously she's still only nine."

"At least we know she's okay," Castle replied, leaning down and kissing at her shoulder.

"Hmm, I would text back but…" Beckett started to say. She then looked at the clock on her phone and said, "Yeah, it's six fifty, they're in school."

"We'll talk to them tonight," Castle said though he knew he didn't have to.

"We will," Beckett said before she slid back a little to lie down more than sit up. She looked over at her husband as he leaned over her and said, "Can I help you?"

"No just wondering…" Castle replied.

"About?" Beckett prompted.

Leaning down, Castle didn't answer as he instead kissed her deeply on the lips before she slid her tongue against his. She flicked against it a few times before she slowly pulled away, smirking a little at the expression on his face. "I think we should-" he was about to say when her phone rang. Groaning, he said, "I should get that coffee I guess."

"Hold on it's Skye, maybe she has something," Beckett told him, grabbing his arm to stop him from getting up. She answered and set the phone to speaker, telling the woman on the other end she had done so.

"I'm sorry, I was taking a chance you two would be up," Skye replied. "But Mary would like to take a run with me to get some coffee and _crêpes_ for breakfast. Would it be too much to ask if you could watch our girls?"

"That's not a problem," Beckett was quick to say without looking at her husband. "Are you going now?"

"We are," Skye said. "But we can wait for you to get ready for course."

"We'll be right there," Beckett replied before hanging up. "Oh stop it," she said when she turned to her husband and saw his face. "You're fine with it too."

"But I wanted some," Castle groaned playfully, letting himself collapse on top of her.

"Get off love, you weren't going to get anything," Beckett said, pushing him off of her.

"Oh… fine," Castle said in annoyance. But instead of getting off of her he kissed her, as deeply as he could though he wasn't trying to goad her into doing anything. He was a little surprised when she responded to him and kept doing so until finally they had to part to breathe. "Okay, so… we're babysitting," he said as he caught his breath, staying close to her.

Smiling at that, Beckett kissed him quickly before sliding out from underneath him as he'd left a gap for that and she went over to the closet in the room, pulling on her nearly denim looking blouse before he joined her, getting his clothes. "I forgot to ask about the case," she then said.

"I forgot to mention it," Castle added simply. "But we'll have the chance to ask when we see her."

"They might be in a hurry," Beckett pointed out before he leaned over. "Again?" she breathed in a mock annoyed tone.

" _Yes again_ ," Castle said simply before he kissed her. He kept that one slow and sensuous, and didn't stop until she broke it off. "Sorry."

" _I don't know, I think I enjoyed that_ ," Beckett replied, biting her lower lip.

When she turned and went into the bathroom Castle bit his lower lip hard and breathed out, "Vixen," before he followed her.

After hurrying to finish getting ready, the two put on their shoes last before they were rushing outside into the still present marine layer to reach Skye and Mary who stepped out on the patio.

"Did we take too long?" Beckett asked.

"It's not too far, so you gave us a little extra time," Mary replied.

Looking into the house to see where the girls were, Castle was about to speak when Skye beat him to it.

"No luck, it's still between Roldan and Washington," the investigator said, sounding serious. "I got a text from Corey just as he was going into the station."

"He's still calling us?" Beckett asked.

"I made sure he would," Skye replied, nodding briefly. "Okay, we'll be back, do you want anything specific on your crêpe?"

"A savory with eggs if they have them?" Castle suggested.

"Right, the same?" Skye asked Beckett. When she nodded, the investigator grabbed the leash of the Ibizan hound next to them and started to run with Mary next to her.

Going into the house, Castle and Beckett shared a look as they saw that the twins were sitting on the couch, watching a cartoon.

"Good morning," Beckett said, going around to them.

"Hi, Mommy and Mummy said you were watching us," Kathleen said as she and her sister looked over at them.

"We are but just while they're having their run," Castle said. "Is this what you do in the mornings?"

"Yeah, they said we could watch a little before we ate," Marie said.

"It's a treat," Kathleen added.

"Why? What do Julia and Eliza do?" Marie asked.

"Is it okay if we sit?" Castle asked, motioning to the space on the couch to Marie's left. When the two giggled shyly and nodded he let Beckett sit first and said, "We usually talk before we sit down to eat."  
"That's what we do," Marie said.

"A lot of times we sing," Kathleen replied.

"To songs?" Beckett asked, smiling as she thought the two looked adorable with how serious they were saying that.

"Yes and they're great songs," Marie said with a smile. "Mummy's good with the words, she remembers."

"Julia is too," Castle said. "And she's good with music too, just like her mother."

"What do you play?" Kathleen asked Beckett.

"The guitar and mandolin," she answered.

"Oh, that's nice," Marie said. "We want to learn that when we get older. We know how to play piano… well, a little bit."

"Think we could have a little concert in the living room?" Castle suggested. When the twins and Beckett looked at him he asked, "No?" He leaned around her a little and asked, "Are you not allowed?"

"We are," Kathleen said. She picked up the remote which had been on her lap and held it out to Beckett saying, "We don't know how to work that."

"Here, I'm well versed in remote controls," Castle said, taking it from Beckett. He managed to turn off the TV with ease and then stood up as the twins led the two of them over to the living room and the black baby grand piano there.

"We only know the scales and a couple songs," Marie said once she and her sister were sitting on the bench.

"That's where you have to start. Julia knows the same," Beckett replied. "I should have mentioned, I know how to play the piano too."

"Show us?" Kathleen said excitedly.

"Why don't you go first and then I'll show you what I know," Beckett told them.

"Start with the scales, always a good place to warm up," Castle replied.

"Do you know how to play?" Marie asked.

"I do but she's a lot better," Castle said, nodding to his wife.

"Go ahead," Beckett said as she didn't know how long they had until their mothers came back. She watched as Marie went first and she nodded while she watched the way her fingers worked across the keys before Kathleen did the same. "You know that very well. What about the songs you said you know?"

" _Mary Had a Little Lamb_?" Castle suggested. He smiled when the two giggled at that and he said, "That was Julia's first." He watched as Marie played that song first, her twin following her. Very nice."

"Now you play, one song was enough," Marie said.

"Are you sure?" Beckett asked since they were both looking at her. When they didn't say anything she smiled and replied, "Let me sit here in the middle." After they'd slid out of the way she sat and started playing an easier piece by Mozart, only a short section of it since it was what she remembered.

"Wow, that's really good," Kathleen said in awe, her twin nodding in agreement with that. "I wish we could play that good."

"You will if you keep practicing," Castle said. "My mother always tells me practice makes perfect… or she did when she was trying to teach me to play."

"That's Julia's gram isn't it?" Kathleen asked.

"That is," Castle replied with a nod. He opened his mouth to speak again when he heard the sliding door at the back of the house open before the Pug barked a few times. "I think your mothers are back," he said. He helped Beckett help the two off the bench before they took off for the kitchen and as they followed more slowly he reached out to his wife, taking her hand. "Okay," he stated instead of asked.

"They're sweet," Beckett said simply, squeezing his hand back after he'd done so.

"Okay, so luckily we remembered your coffee preferences from when we were in the Hamptons," Skye said as the two came over to the kitchen table. "And you have those and your _crêpes_ ; I got us all the same since we could use savory instead of sweet today."

"Not chocolate Mummy?" Marie asked as she pouted a little.

"Sorry sweetling, not this time," Skye said, leaning down and kissing the top of her oldest's head. "So sit down and eat."

"Smoothies?" Beckett asked, seeing the cups that the girls and Skye and Mary had at their places.

"Did you want some?" Skye replied.

"No, we'll do better with coffee," Castle said reassuringly.

"Okay so what do you two plan on doing today?" Mary asked the twins once they'd settled down to eat.

"After school," Skye then added.

"Dunno, are you gonna get us?" Marie asked.

"We're not sure, it'll either be us, your mother or your grandpa," Skye said. "But I'll try to be there to pick you up, I promise."

"Hmm, could we just go swimming?" Kathleen asked.

"Not a surprise since you two didn't get the chance to for long last night," Mary teased. "And I think that would be fine. But if it's your grandfather you two know the drill."

"Do we have to?" Marie groaned.

"Yes, wear your vests, you're not full swimmers yet," Skye told them.

"Sorry, we wanted to make sure we got things set with them," Mary told Castle and Beckett.

"We thought so," Castle said with a nod.

"How're the _crêpes_?" Skye asked them.

"Very good," Beckett said. "And this is just down the street?"

"Never told them how far it was," Skye replied with a smile to her wife. "It's three blocks down at a tiny shopping center. It's not far, as you could probably tell from how long we were gone."

"That reminds me, we saw that you had the TV off what were you two doing?" Mary asked the twins.

"A concert!" Kathleen replied immediately.

"We don't usually let our girls watch TV," Beckett replied. "So we were thinking it would be nice to do something with them since we never have had the chance to before."

"So a concert meaning what exactly?" Mary asked.

"We showed them how we play on the piano," Marie said. "And Kate showed us how she plays."

"It was good Mummy, Mommy," Kathleen replied seriously.

"Who'd you play? Paul? John? Mozart?" Skye asked.

"The last one," Beckett said in amusement. "I'm not an expert but I know how to play." She then studied the woman and said, "Do you?"

Before she could answer that the dogs started to bark and Skye had to whistle at them before getting up.

"Wow, almost like yours Kate," Castle said as they watched her go into the room off the kitchen.

"You can whistle to doggies like that?" Kathleen said.

"Well, I do for our dog-" Beckett started to say.

"Oh, Mummy told us in what you said to her on the computer," Marie said. "She said his name was Macca."

"Next time you guys come to our house you'll be able to meet him," Castle replied.

"I hope so," Kathleen said.

"Okay, sorry, I didn't realize they were that hungry," Skye replied as she sat back down at the table. "We need to hurry a little, we might end up being late you two."

The rest of the meal was spent in relative silence as everyone was trying to hurry so they wouldn't make the twins late. When they'd finished, Castle and Beckett stood up and started to clear up the kitchen when Skye's phone rang.

"Hmm it's Doug, probably wants an update," the woman said, going back to the room the dogs were coming out of after eating their breakfast.

"Go, I'll take care of this love," Castle told his wife quickly.

Nodding, Beckett headed over to the room after the investigator and heard her saying, "Another one… yeah but I can't tell Mary now."

Looking over rapidly at Beckett when she realized she wasn't alone in the room, Skye put her finger to her lips before turning her attention back to her boss. "Yes, okay we'll be there," she told him before hanging up. She stepped close to her friend and murmured, "There's been another letter, Doug hasn't looked into it yet, he's leaving that for me to do."

"What about the police?" Beckett said, keeping her voice low as she suspected the reason why Skye wasn't going to tell her wife yet.

"I told him to hold on before he called Corey," Skye said. "Luckily he'll do that for me. Come with me?"

"And Rick?" Beckett asked.

"Actually…" Skye said before she walked past Beckett and into the kitchen. "Love?"

"Yes?" Mary replied as she set a plate down on a drying mat after Castle had washed it.

"Would it be okay if I headed to the office with Kate?" Skye asked. "Doug called me and it looks like I forgot to fill out my paperwork."

"That last signature?" Mary said.

"Unfortunately," Skye said, looking at the girls who were watching them. "But I swear I'll try and do better with that," she promised.

"You'll watch out for her right?" Mary asked Beckett.

"Would you mind going with them?" Skye asked Castle as he was drying his hands, nodding to her wife and daughters.

"Sure, it'll be interesting to see their school," he said.

"Okay, let's go get your things you two," Mary said.

"What?" Castle asked as Skye hurried after the three to say a quick goodbye to them.

"Another letter, she doesn't want to mention it to Mary yet," Beckett explained. She started to open her mouth to speak before she paused and then said, "Tell her on the way back okay?"

"Right," Castle said. He leaned down to kiss her lips quickly before telling her, " _Be careful love_."

"I always am Rick," Beckett said, reaching down to give his hand a reassuring squeeze before Skye entered the room.

"Lock this after us; they leave out of the front door," the investigator told them. "Did she explain…?" When Castle nodded she then said, "Then tell her-"

"On the way back," he finished for her.

"Wow, you're good," Skye said to Beckett. "Come on."

Glancing back at her husband as he locked the door behind them once they were on the porch, Beckett had to smile at his quick wave before she went into the garage after Skye. "So what are we going to do exactly? Open it?" she asked as they were in the car.

"Yep, gloves of course," Skye said. "And if you're wondering why I can do this, Corey gave me permission."

"He anticipated this happening again?" Beckett asked.

Before she could reply to that, Skye waved to her wife and daughters outside the fence around the house once they'd gotten to the street and after making sure the four were walking to the school she headed to Lincoln. "It was Racine in fact that thought the killer might try to get in contact with me after what Corey told him last night," she finally replied. "And he told me to open a letter if I should get another; Corey I mean; just not to handle it with my bare hands like I did the others."

Watching the morning traffic on the streets Beckett said, "She might kill you you know."

"How I wish I thought you were talking about the woman we're trying to find," Skye said, staring straight ahead. "I suppose I should have told her but… I wanted her with the girls."

"You're protecting her again," Beckett replied.

"Very much so," Skye said with a slight sigh. "But luckily Mary's a little more understanding now." She could feel Beckett looking at her and she quickly explained, "Last night we were… we just got to talking about our need for one another. The different kinds."

"Right," Beckett said, trying not to smile at how flustered her friend was.

"Sorry," Skye said, looking at her and cursing her blushing.

"No it's okay, we're both happily married to our spouses it's bound to come up," Beckett replied, shrugging.

"But anyways, that came up, my need to protect her, because I want her to be with me for a… long time," Skye said. "She understands but she doesn't want me to go crazy with it."

"Rick knows now to do the same," Beckett commented.

"You don't do the same for him?" Skye asked.

"I think I try to but he is a grown man, so there's only so much I can do," Beckett replied after thinking about that for a moment. She then smiled and said, "He follows me everywhere, so at least I can watch him in that way."

"You make a point," Skye said. "Times I wish Mary could do the same. I've told her she'd be great but…"

"She'd rather work with people and not on accidents," Beckett finished for her. When the woman nodded she then said, "What about the two patients?"

"What they were seeing Mary for?" Skye asked. "She said Roldan was a paranoid schizophrenic though she had been on medication for some time. And Washington was suffering from multiple personality disorder."

"Either one," Beckett said.

"That's what she said too," Skye said. She didn't say anything else as they were at the NTSB West building, so she parked and together they rushed to the elevator.

"You know," Beckett finally said when they had reached the NTSB elevator to the top floor. "You could have had Mary join you, Castle and I…" she began before she saw Skye was shaking her head.

"Corey suggested I bring you," the investigator replied. "And I agree. I feel much safer. You know what to do after all." At that point the car stopped and the doors opened to Doug Feith standing in front of the two. "Where?" she asked shortly.

"This way," Feith replied, going to his office where a letter was on a towel. "Didn't know what else to use."

"That's fine but they're going to take that," Beckett said as he'd said that to her.

Picking up the gloves on the desk, Skye pulled them on before she carefully opened the letter. "Corey let me know what would be the best way to do this…" she explained, carefully making the paper rip from the force of an NTSB seal letter opener. When she had finally gotten it open she pulled it out and laid it on the towel next to the envelope, taking off her gloves. " _You've seen what I can do, we need to meet. You'll know where_ …" she read as she watched Beckett take a picture of the letter with her phone. "How the hell should I know where? Black light?" she asked her boss.

"Hold on," Feith replied before leaving.

"Does this worry you?" Beckett asked her friend.

"Not really," Skye said. "No threat here… she wants to exert control over the situation, which means-"

"We're getting closer to finding her," she and Beckett said at the same time.

"Here," Feith said, handing her a black light. He watched as she ran it all over the letter and envelope and said, "Turn it over?"

"It would have bled through, the paper is thin," Skye said. She sighed and then told her boss, "Best to call them now Doug."

"Go, I'll speak to whoever comes to get this," Feith replied. "Be careful."

"You too," Skye replied before she and Beckett left to head back down to the car.

As they were walking from the elevator into the parking garage, Beckett was about to ask her something when she heard the investigator's phone ringing. "Who is it?" she asked, seeing Skye's startled expression when she looked at the screen.

"A friend," she replied quickly.

Listening to the other half of the conversation Beckett soon was able to guess that whoever was on the other end was at LAX but anything else she couldn't quite get. "Work?" she guessed when Skye had hung up.

"No, well, in a way. Someone from the China Airlines accident is asking me to come in," she said. "They're in a hangar at LAX."

"You want to go now," Beckett said.

"It's right there," Skye said.

"You realize this is your car and you are driving," Beckett pointed out.

"Thank you," Skye said in relief before they headed back to the car. She drove them out to LAX and at the security checkpoint she showed her NTSB badge. "I'm not working but-" she started to say to the woman at the gate.

"That's alright Investigator McDouglas, Investigator Devine let me know to expect you," she told her before opening the gate for them to pass through.

"Ah Jill you always assumed," Skye said as she drove around the runway. "Oh, American," she said to Beckett as a plane landed next to them. She glanced over at her and seeing the surprise on her friend's face said, "Better not tell your husband about this."

"We got to do this at JFK," Beckett replied. "But this investigator's a friend?"

"I'm pretty friendly with the people here at West," Skye told her. "Because they're like family now since we work together, have a Christmas party together, all of that."

Looking on as they were approaching hangars south of the two southern runways of the airport, Beckett said, "Where will I be while you're going in?"

"Going in as well," Skye said before she parked. "There she is," she said as a woman standing at the entrance to the hangar walked out. "Devine," she called, getting out of the car.

"McDouglas," the woman replied with a smile.

Hugging her fellow investigator tightly Skye laughed slightly and said, "Was going to see you but… things got busy."

"Of course, have to catch up with the wife," Devine replied. "I heard about Brent though, I'm so sorry."

Becoming serious then, Skye nodded and said, "Thank you, but we should focus on you. This is Kate Beckett, she's here…"

"Helping with the investigation into Brent," Devine replied, shaking Beckett's hand. "Yeah, no one's under the impression you'd sit back and let the police handle it. Is she coming in?" At Skye's nod she asked the two to wait and handed a white hard hat with the NTSB seal on it to her.

"What happened here?" Beckett asked when they were alone.

"Not here, just past the runways," Skye answered, pointing to the west. "The plane's a 747, it lost lift and crashed in the water on takeoff. But luckily the captain had done a water ditching after takeoff before and there were no fatalities."

"That would be due to their luck that a Coast Guard boat was nearby and started bringing people to shore. Also some could swim," Devine said, coming out with another NTSB hard hat which she handed to Beckett. "There you are, keep that on. And since it's a spare… take it home to your daughters." She saw the woman's surprised expression and said, "We're aware of who you are of course, we did read your first book you wrote with your husband."

"Can I ask who's we?" Beckett said.

"Sure, virtually everyone at West," Devine said. "Come on Skye, I think we have the solution."

"Already, you work fast," Skye replied as she followed her colleague into the hangar.

"It's intact," Beckett said in surprise at the sight of the 747. "Well, mostly, sorry."

"No she's right, the damage isn't too significant," Devine replied. "But Skye, come and look at these wings."

"Oh I see, spoiler damage…" the investigator replied as she saw the flaps on the wings had been torn off. "The hell caused that on the right? I know that wasn't all during the ditching."

"It's over here," Devine said, leading them to some metal that had been placed on a table.

Watching the woman pick up the spoiler, Skye nodded and replied, "So he banked down to the right but he was high enough to power up the left engine."

"The readings from the FDR indicate he did that," Devine said.

"The metal there on the edges looks lighter than the paint scheme," Beckett suddenly said, having been looking at the top of the spoiler. When the two women looked at her she said, "You got that already?"

"No we did but you have a better eye than I do," Devine replied. "Morris caught it too."

"Metal fatigue?" Skye suggested.

"To a degree, these were recent installations," Devine replied.

"That would explain the marks on the end of the wing," Skye said. She then said, "So the maintenance worker attached them in two of the three points?"

"Talking with the men who did this, that spoiler was to go with the 747 but the 300 version," Devine said.

"Why so old and why are they making for the 300 still?" Skye asked in surprise. She then answered her own question saying, "The executive plane."

"Basically," Devine replied. "So it was a mix up at the manufacturing plant."

"Okay, so looks like you have it. Though why call me over?" Skye said, looking at her closely.

"Well… I wanted to see you and see if we might have missed something," Devine replied. She smiled when Skye left her and Beckett, walking back to the plane and then around it. "She's doing okay?" she asked in a low tone.

"For the time being," Beckett replied.

"No you have it, the fuselage is fine but the wing is your problem," Skye said as she made it back to them. "Anything else?"

"We're good," Devine said, shaking their hands.

"Call to come over for tea some time, the girls would love to see you," Skye said as she handed her colleague her hat.

"That would be great and call for the sake of calling Skye," Devine replied.

Nodding to that, Skye then walked with Beckett out to the car and she said, "She's gay too."

"I had the feeling she was," Beckett replied. "It explained the way she looked at you."

"Yeah," Skye said with a slight laugh. "But she's married now." She paused next to her car and said, "Sorry, I don't know why I told you that."

Shrugging Beckett said, "To let me know the NTSB is tolerant?"

Outright laughing as they got into the car, Skye said, "Well, they would need to be of course. But I guess I should say Mary will tease me about seeing her." She saw Beckett looking at her and said, "We're all friends, us, Jill and her wife, it's just Mary knows she's attracted to me still. Okay, so I still have nothing from Corey."

Beckett wanted to comment that she wasn't as leery of hearing about her friend's sexuality as Skye seemed to think she was but let her change the subject. "I wonder if they're really having that much trouble," she commented.

Waving to the woman who opened the gate for them, Skye replied, "You think they're going to keep us from investigating anymore?"

"I would likely have done the same if I had asked you to consult," Beckett said apologetically.

Sighing Skye drove to Sepulveda before making her way towards Lincoln, suddenly looking in the rearview mirror. She looked away and said, "I'm a little surprised they haven't called Mary in to speak with them about the two."

Beckett said, "I saw it too."

"Yeah, that's them," Skye replied as she looked at the car she had been able to tell was tailing them. She glanced at Beckett looking in the rearview mirror saying, "You better call the police."

"Right now," Beckett said simply as she was carefully getting her phone from her pocket. She had just opened it and was about to dial 911 when she heard Skye swearing before yelling, "Hold on!" She had only a second to react and her phone flew out of her hand to the floor as they were sideswiped from the left by a car.

Trying to keep them straight, Skye realized that they were being shoved to the side of the road and she turned to wheel fully to the right before they were nearly sailing over the curb and against the embankment that made was on the other side of the sidewalk. "You okay?" she asked Beckett as they recovered, turning off the car.

"Yeah, thanks for getting us between the trees," she replied as they got out.

"They just left," Skye said in surprise as she couldn't see any sign of the car that had hit them.

Before Beckett could respond to that, a van pulled up to them and jerked in front of their car before a woman stepped out, gun drawn.

"Get in," she told the two who hesitated. "Now."

Sharing a look with Beckett who nodded, Skye went inside first, cursing the fact that for some reason there was no traffic on the street to witness the scene. Sitting against the side of the back of the van, she watched Beckett looking back at their kidnapper over her shoulder before she was pushed inside. "Look-" she began to say.

"Shut up and turn around, on your knees, both of you," the woman commanded.

Glancing at Skye, Beckett was bracing herself as she inched back to the woman first. She was ready to turn and strike the woman as hard as she could to hopefully get the gun out of her hand. But she had to freeze when a voice came to them from a distance, muffled since it was coming from in front of the van.

"Sorry, I had to get the car out of sight," another woman who Beckett and Skye immediately recognized was Violet Fuller told the other. "I have the handcuffs…"

Beckett clenched her jaw as she cursed her inability to have had the chance to dial 911, as by then they would have been tracked since she knew there were police patrolling the area. And when the two women talked about hurrying to handcuff Skye she realized they'd already figured that out.

Skye had had a moment of nearly defying Fuller before the handcuffs were placed on her wrists but before she could she thought of her wife and daughters and she hesitated. She shuddered at the feel of the metal, being taken back to when she'd been kidnapped four years before and then heard the other woman handcuffing Beckett. She went rigid and looked at Beckett as she felt; what she guessed was Fuller's; hand running over the back of her head.

"What did I tell you?" Fuller was asking her partner.

"Alright, I got it, but we need to go… what about the other, it's not her," the woman replied.

"No but she's expendable," Fuller murmured

Before Skye could react to that and wondering if Beckett had heard it, she was unceremoniously shoved back in the van by Fuller and sprawled over Beckett's lap as the women slammed the doors shut after her. "Sorry," she said.

"That's okay," Beckett replied. "Someone has to be coming around the corner," she said. "They'll see the car."

Breathing out as the van started up and she could feel it moving, Skye looked to the doors and then around them as she sat next to Beckett, closer to the drivers though they were blocked from them by a metal wall.

"Did you see anything?" Beckett asked her.

"No, this is solid," Skye said a little absently, looking around them. She glanced back to the doors before she could feel her back pressing against the side. "We're turning left…" she murmured.

"Can you tell where?" Beckett asked.

"Yeah, Westchester Parkway… it's deserted for most of this street but there is a high school, after a while…" Skye said, listening. "Can you do something?"

"Depends," Beckett said, thinking the woman had a plan.

"Tell Mary I love her," Skye replied.

"We'll get out of this," Beckett said, thinking the woman was in shock.

"Do you know how to do a tuck and roll?" Skye asked.

Looking at her Beckett began to see her idea and nodded before she moved to set her foot flat against the doors to the back of the van that had been rattling the entire drive. "Wait, can you?" she asked, looking back at Skye who'd moved to press against her back.

"No," the investigator said.

Beckett was just in the process of bracing herself to move when Skye pushed her hard and the doors flew open from the weight of her foot. She fell from the van to the street and had to get into the tuck and roll almost immediately as the vehicle had sped up. Recovering quickly she pushed herself up the best she could with her hands behind her back and saw Fuller in the back of the van for one brief moment with Skye before the doors closed and it went so far in the distance she knew she couldn't catch them. Looking around her, she saw cars coming towards her so she got out of the street and ran to the high school, knowing Skye had given herself a chance getting her out of there.

* * *

"Alright, be good you two," Mary was saying to the twins at the school.

"We will, try and make sure that Mummy comes too," Kathleen said.

"She has to work still," Marie said.

"She'll try to come," Mary reassured them gently. "For now concentrate on your school work."

Castle was smiling as Mary came back to him and he said, "I'm reminded of Kate's and my daughters again."

"That's what kids do," Mary replied. She sighed and then said, "Shall we?"

Walking with her off of the school's property, Castle remembered he was supposed to tell the woman about the letter that Skye had received but he was unsure what would be the best way to tell her about it. Remembering her anger when Skye had finally mentioned the letters to her, he sighed inwardly as he knew he had no choice and he then began to speak when her phone suddenly started to ring. He mentally cursed as she spoke to whoever was on the other end but waited as patiently as he could for her to finish.

"Sorry that was my office, someone canceled my only appointment today so I'll be able to pick them up at least," Mary said, nodding back to the school.

"They'll appreciate that I'm sure," Castle said. "Listen, I kind of needed to tell you something for Skye."

"You mean the fact that she got something else from the killer?" Mary asked with a sideways glance at him. She smiled briefly at his surprised expression and said, "You didn't think I'd be able to figure that out?"

"Are you mad?" Castle asked slowly.

"Well of course but I think I know why she did that, because the girls would have heard somehow," Mary said with a sigh. "So they'll be back soon I'm sure."

"Of course," Castle said, handing her the dog's leash. "How come you didn't take your Pug?" he then asked as they got back to the neighborhood.

"It's a little hard to take two dogs," Mary replied. "We switch between them when we take them." She let the dog loose when they were near the house and opened a door in the gate for them to go through.

When they entered the house and Castle saw no sign of either of their wives, he looked at Mary wondering if she was concerned.

Glancing at him Mary said, "I bet you anything she got called to LAX. They're investigating an accident there so I'm sure they called her over to check things out. They usually do since she has that ability to read planes. They'll be back soon."

"So…" Castle said, feeling slightly awkward as the two of them had never really spent time alone except for the one time she'd helped him make lunch in the Hamptons.

"I'm wondering if you could go over the case for me?" Mary asked.

"I'm wondering if you might be able to tell me about your two patients," Castle said.

Mary nodded and then said, "I don't have their files here, both of them go too far back you know."

"I realize that," Castle replied. "I just want to see."

Leading him over to the office, Mary went to her computer and pulled up a picture saying, "This is Beckie Roldan I think she was beginning to suffer from schizophrenia."

"Was she on medication?" Castle inquired.

"I put her on it before she was transferred but of course what happened after that I can't tell you," Mary replied. She paused and then said, "That might be why Corey hasn't called her."

"It's not that hard to get medical records," Castle replied. "Unless she did the same as Fuller."

"It could be," Mary said with a slight nod. "I don't think she went so far as to need to be institutionalized so she could have disappeared easily."

"And Carol Washington?" Castle asked. He watched as she pulled up a picture of the woman and studied her for a moment. "Neither of these women look like the ones in the security footage."

"You have to remember there are people who will make you up to look like anything out there," Mary replied. "Either for a fee or not."

Nodding Castle asked, "What about her?"

"She was suffering multiple personality disorder," Mary said. "But hers was easier to control."

"But she could have still snapped," Castle commented. "There's no way for you to contact their current doctors or past?"

"That's more for the LAPD and FBI," Mary said. "They'd have better access to her records than I would, especially since I'm not her doctor anymore."

"So we wait now," Castle said.

"That's how my life is as her wife," Mary said, nodding across the room to her wife's desk.

"Do you mind that? Her going for months sometimes? Sometimes out of the country?" Castle asked her in slight concern.

"We dated for a year before she proposed to me," Mary said. "And I had that time to get used to how she lived."

"When did you move in with her?" Castle asked.

"About seven months in," Mary said thoughtfully. At Castle's surprise she smiled slightly and said, "I might have just gradually moved in with her and in the end we agreed we wanted to live together."

"They'll find the killer," Castle said when the smile dropped off the woman's face and he knew she was concerned for her wife. "And Fuller. You know it's interesting that she's letting either Roldan or Washington take the blame."

"I'm thinking it's her trying to leave an opening for Skye to love her still, just in case," Mary replied.

"Yikes," Castle said. "It's that bad?"

"It is, she was… annoying in how her conversation was so focused on herself," Mary replied. "Not in a way to help herself mind you; as it should have been; but to laud herself and to make me impressed."

"You're sure that she's not trying to get to both of you?" Castle asked.

"I don't think so, I would have gotten letters to," Mary reminded him.

"That's true," Castle had to concede. He then checked his watched and said, "It's been a while."

"I know," Mary replied with a frown. "Jill wouldn't keep her for this long." She sat up then and pulled her phone out of her pocket before she dialed her wife's number. "Come on Skye… pick up…" she muttered as the phone rang on the other end.

Castle wasn't surprised when the woman swore and hung up, then saying, "Want me to try and call Kate?" At her quick nod he started to do so, and when his wife wasn't picking up he felt a sinking sensation in the pit of his stomach. "Something's wrong," he said.

At that moment Mary's phone rang and she answered it rapidly before listening to the person on the other end.

When a slight look of horror came onto the woman's face, Castle tried to keep from asking what was wrong before she hung up. As soon as she had, he asked, "What is it?"

"That was Doug Feith, he said Skye's car was discovered on the side of Lincoln, run off the street," Mary said, sounding stunned.

"And Kate and Skye?" Castle asked, his body tense at that.

"The car was empty," Mary said miserably.

* * *

As soon as the vehicle had stopped Castle nearly ran out, going over to the car which was resting up on a slight incline. He could see; before he was stopped by police officers; that it had been run off the road as there was damage to the left side near the trunk.

"Where are they?" Mary was asking Feith who had walked over to her to stop her from going after Castle to the car.

"We don't know," Feith replied. "The police don't have any witnesses-"

"No one was here on the street?" Castle asked, incredulous as the far left lane was stopped with cars.

"Not at that moment," Feith said a little grimly. "They believe that the kidnapper hit them at that moment since they had the chance and took them."

"More than likely," Castle said absently, looking over into the distance seeing Detectives Burke and Racine walking to the car. He saw that the latter was on his phone before he suddenly talked to the former who came running towards them. "You found them," he said as soon as he'd reached them.

"We found…" Burke started to say slowly. "Ms. Beckett," he told Castle, trying not to look at Mary. "I can give you a ride to where she is."

"Where was she found?" Mary then demanded before the two men could leave.

"At the St. Bernard High School, over on Westchester Parkway," Burke answered, pointing in the direction of the street.

"I'm going with you," Mary said, following the men. She looked at Feith as he kept up with her and then said to Burke, "Why was my wife not given any kind of protection?"

"We don't have the resources," Burke said. "And that's coming from Racine."

"Come on," Feith said as Castle turned to help him grab Mary from going after the detective.

"I'm going to kill him," the woman said through her clenched teeth.

"Come on," Burke replied. "Let's see what Beckett says happened before you do that."

Once they were in the car, Castle paid close attention to where they were going and when he saw how the parkway was relatively deserted he said, "They were going to get rid of my wife at some point here."

"No, I think they were trying to get away from heavier traffic," Burke answered, turning onto the street.

"Did anyone see her get away from the kidnapper?" Castle asked.

"There were cars but they only saw your wife getting up and then running for the school," Burke replied before he turned right at said school.

Turning her head when she heard a car approaching, Beckett wasn't surprised to see her husband coming to her at a run once he had gotten out of it. She wrapped her arms around him tightly as soon as he'd reached her, whispering, "I'm fine Rick," as she could feel his relief in his embrace of her.

"I know," Castle murmured, but he didn't let her go even though he knew the others were approaching them.

Very carefully Beckett pulled away from her husband, only to come face to face with Mary.

"What happened to my wife," the woman said, her voice trembling as Beckett visibly tensed at her demand before she began to reply.


	10. Let Me Know You Were Gone

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The title of this chapter is a lyric from the song Fire and Rain by James Taylor, from his album Sweet Baby James.

Looking down at the last button of her blouse as she pushed it through the slit, Beckett looked over at her husband who was sitting on the window seat. "So… are you ready?" she asked him as she saw he'd turned towards the window and was looking outside.

Glancing at her Castle stood up and then walked over to his wife and was about to say something when he instead wrapped his arms around her.

"She got me out," Beckett said, as she knew he was thinking of when Dunn had kidnapped her. She was hugging him back though and pressed her cheek to his saying, "I tried to stop her, when I realized what she was about to do."

"I'm glad you couldn't," Castle said. "But why would she not try to get out herself?"

"We'd better go," Beckett replied. "I need to tell Mary what happened in more detail."

"Do you think you should?" Castle asked, not letting her go.

"She'd want to know," Beckett replied simply. When he still didn't let her step away she leaned up into him and kissed him gently. She was relieved when he followed her lead in that and then finally felt his arms separate on her back. She walked with him out of the guest house and up to the main one before they went into the office where FBI agents were finishing setting up equipment on the phones in the room.

Mary nodded to an FBI agent that was talking to her before she turned and saw Castle and Beckett coming inside. She spoke to the man in front of her and then went to them, leading them into the living room across from the office. "They seem to think we'll hear much of anything from Fuller and Roldan," she said bitterly. "But they let me know what happened to you two in better detail."

"They did?" Beckett asked in surprise.

Nodding Mary said, "When you were run off the road you had a clear street, it turns out the van caused an accident at the point where Sepulveda and Lincoln part from each other."

"But the other side was empty too," Beckett said.

"It was just luck that it was," Mary replied. "And they found the car that hit you about two miles away."

"They found the thieves?" Castle asked, since the car that had run Skye and Beckett off the road had been stolen.

"It's the FBI's opinion they wanted that to happen," Mary replied.

"To slow them down," Beckett finished. "No sign of the van?"

"I was just being told when you two walked in that they found it deserted at a marina parking lot not too far from the high school," Mary said. "They're searching the boats in the area right now."

"They think the two are going with Skye in one," Castle said.

"I think that's a prevailing idea," Mary replied.

"It's too easy," Beckett said quickly. "If they already tried to slow us down before…"

"They'd do it again, I told the agent in charge that and he brushed it off," Mary said. "Well, not brushed it off he will keep that in mind the boat idea is just…"

"A priority," Beckett finished for her. When the woman nodded and then sat down on the piano bench she moved to sit next to her and placed her hand carefully on her shoulder, not sure if she'd want any kind of comfort at that moment.

"She made sure you made it back," Mary said, looking at her.

"I think she saw it as a chance for us to find her," Beckett replied. "I didn't have a chance to tell you yet but before she pushed me out she asked me to tell you she loves you." She looked up at Castle as Mary suddenly turned away from them and said, "Did they tell you anything else?"

"That they'd be taking over the investigation," the woman said, sounding as if she was controlling her voice.

"So we're not allowed to help anymore," Castle said.

"Basically," Mary replied. "Corey told me he and Racine are lucky they had their sergeant's permission to have you two and Skye involved."

"They knew about the letter already didn't they?" Beckett asked.

"They did, did she tell you before you went?" Mary asked her.

"She told Doug to call them before we left," Beckett explained.

"She meant the FBI," Burke said, nodding slightly to the others as they turned to him at the entrance of the room. "Agent Weir in there was assigned to look into the letters, Skye's a federal employee."

"Did they look at it for evidence yet?" Beckett asked, wondering why the woman hadn't mentioned that.

"They did but there was nothing," Burke replied. "And since we know now who the killers are…"

"There's not much need to trace them," Mary replied. She watched as Burke was called to then from the office and before he could leave was quick to ask him, "Can you tell us when something comes up?"

"Of course," the detective replied seriously before he left them.

"What did the letter say?" Mary immediately said to Beckett, turning to her.

Taking her phone; which had been returned to her; Beckett opened the picture of the letter she'd thought to take at NTSB West and handed it to the woman. "Skye wasn't sure what this really meant, since that could be anywhere," she said as Mary was reading.

"I have no idea what that means either, how are we supposed to know where to go?" the woman said, handing back the phone. She thought for a moment and then said, "Unless it was just because we were expecting a letter."

"It's a warning," Castle and Beckett said at the same time then.

"About them taking her?" Mary asked, look at them in confusion.

"It's… subtle," Castle said. "But it's a warning that they're taking her somewhere."

"But where is that place going to be?" Mary asked, sounding frustrated.

"We don't know," Beckett said, standing up as the woman did so. "But I think we're both in agreement that they're likely going to take her somewhere and have her choose."

"Between them and me," Mary replied after thinking about that for a moment. At their nods she then said, "And that's why they warn her that she knows what they can do. They can kill who she loves."

"Excuse me for a second," Castle then told the two women before he went to the office.

"I don't need protection," Mary said to Beckett. "I just want my wife back."

"She would want you to have that protection," she replied simply. She wasn't too surprised when Mary whirled away from her and went to the nearest window, looking out. She glanced at Castle who came back to them and then said, "There's one way we could find her."

Turning to them, Mary asked, "What do you have in mind?"

"There's something that all three of these women have in common," Castle replied. "Skye, Fuller and Roldan."

"Are you sure Roldan has anything to do with this besides maybe Fuller meeting her at my office?" Mary said, sounding skeptical.

"You think it's just Fuller," Castle stated. He looked at his wife then and noticed that she seemed a little unsure. "Beckett?" he asked.

"No, I would have agreed with you Mary," she said, shaking her head. "But it did seem like Roldan wanted Skye was well. The way she looked at her was… desirous."

Breathing out heavily, Mary said, "Then they're going to rape my wife."

"I don't think so," Beckett was quick to tell her. "I think what they're going to do is make her choose."

"But Fuller wants to be in control," Mary reminded her. "If Skye refuses them, what then?" When Beckett looked away she sighed and said, "We don't have that much time."

"They might take their time to convince her," Castle said as they all fell silent after that. When the woman looked at him he told them easily, "Fuller wants control but I think unless she's pushed to it…"

"She's going to make Skye want her," Beckett finished. At his nod she wasn't surprised to see that Mary looked like she was in agreement with that as well and she then continued saying, "Great but how do we go about looking for a place the three of them would have some connection to?"

"Luckily we can start with here in LA," Castle replied simply. "And it'll of course have to do with flying."

"Of course," Mary said. "We need to continue this in the office," she then said. She got a determined look on her face at that moment and then strode over to the room saying, "I'll call if I get a phone call," in a stern tone. "But for the time being I'd like to have some privacy."

Watching in surprise as the agents and detectives left, Castle and Beckett shared a look before they hurried into the room, the former grabbing Burke's arm as they passed him to bring him after them into the room.

"Sorry but I thought you could help us with this," Castle apologized to the detective who was looking at him in slight anger.

"And I want you here helping Corey," Mary told the man. "Thank you for grabbing him," she told Castle.

"Help you with what though?" Burke asked, looking confused then.

Quickly explaining their theory to the man, Beckett wasn't too surprised to see he looked skeptical. "You saw the note right?" she asked him.

"I did," Burke replied in a slow tone of voice. "But really, you think they'd put that into the note."

"You saw how they did word it," Castle said. "It was a threat; she would know where they were taking her. There's something in this place, something that Fuller and Roldan… or just Fuller, thinks would endear them or her to Skye."

Looking doubtful still, Burke finally said, "Okay, the Feds are looking into the boat and everything else; they wouldn't consider this; not without evidence. What do you need to look at first?"

"We need information about Fuller and Roldan," Beckett said, looking at Mary.

"More detailed information," the woman said, turning to Burke.

"I can do that for you," the detective replied with a slight nod.

"Okay first let's look at Skye," Beckett said, turning around the murder board and writing her name on the left side, drawing a line underneath it. "We know she's worked at NTSB West since it first opened."

"Did Fuller or Roldan have anything to do with the NTSB? Were they involved in accidents?" Castle asked.

Nodding as she could see then how they planned to look through things between her wife and the two women, Mary followed Burke to her desk where she watched him open an LAPD site to search for information on people. "Good thing you can get this here," she told him.

"I know," Burke said shortly. He then moved aside when Mary waved him away and watched as she opened the desk drawer.

"Don't tell anyone I have this," the woman said to the three as she took out a file. "This should be enough to give us some information we need."

Sliding his chair back, Burke was looking on the computer while Mary was looking at Fuller's information and Castle and Beckett were reading Roldan's. "I have nothing," he finally said. "They were involved in incidents which are a connection to the NTSB; the only one I can find with them. But Skye never looked into them."

"Nothing here," Beckett said. "Same with Roldan."

"He's right, Fuller's clear there," Mary finally said. "What about schools? Skye went to St. Alban's, which is preschool up to twelfth grade. Then UCLA and Oxford."

"Oxford is out," Castle said. "I can't see them taking her to England."

"It's unlikely, since Beckett was able to come back and let us know what happened," Burke replied to that. "What about St. Alban's, is that still around?"

"I think so," Mary said. "It's in Pacific Palisades, to the north of us."

The room was quiet as they all looked at the information they had to try and check on that but as before they all came up empty handed.

"Roldan went to school in Irvine; it's where she grew up," Beckett said first.

"And Fuller went to school in Hollywood," Burke replied.

"That's the same information that I have," Mary said with a sigh. "And Fuller went to college at USC."

"The rivalry?" Castle suddenly said. When the others looked at him he said, "Okay, maybe not but Roldan's college doesn't work either, she went to UC Irvine."

"Early career doesn't work in Skye's case," Mary said quickly. "Since she trained in DC."

"Then we need to look at things time-wise," Beckett said.

"Okay, so Skye came back here in about 2000," Mary said. "Can you find a timeline on Roldan too?"

"You don't have it on your papers?" Burke asked in surprise.

"To make sure," Beckett answered for her as she had an idea of what the woman was talking about.

"Yeah I can, what do you have for Roldan around that time," Burke said.

"She was here in the area and training to become a pilot," Beckett said. "At the…"

"What?" Mary and Burke ended up saying at the same time as Castle and Beckett looked at each other.

"It's a possibility," Castle replied, nodding his head slightly to her. He then looked at the other two and said, "Santa Monica Airport."

"That simple?" Mary asked hesitantly, looking hopeful still.

"It might be," Beckett said. She and Castle looked down at their papers while Mary went to hers and Burke looked back at the computer.

"Nothing here about her having a plane or anything to do with the airport," Castle said.

"Nothing here either," Mary said a few seconds later.

"I might have something," Burke then said. When the other three had come to stand behind him he pointed to the screen and said, "This is Roldan's plane at the airport and according to what I could find, Fuller learned to fly when she was ten there."

"That's it," Mary said. "We need to go, but the FBI…"

"They have to be informed," Burke said as he stood.

"Informed about what?" Agent Weir asked as he appeared in the doorway.

* * *

"This isn't good," Mary said almost fretfully as she watched the agents and detectives going to the hangars to check each one. "They might have seen us coming."

"They have the perimeter secured," Beckett told her as she was standing next to her.

"Mary! Mary what the bloody hell is going on!" a voice called behind them.

"Oh no, Liam please," the woman said, turning and seeing that her father in law had arrived.

Watching as Skye's wife went to Hayden and was obviously trying to calm him, Castle said, "I wonder who told him?"

"I think she texted him," Beckett replied. "Not the best way to tell him his daughter's been kidnapped."

"I don't think they're finding anything," Castle said as he could see that the authorities were starting to slowly make their way back to them.

"Damn it," Beckett said with a sigh. "We-"

"I've got a phone call!" Mary called in a yell suddenly.

Agent Weir and Detective Burke ran over to her then, the former making a call on his own cell phone.

When the agent instructed her to answer Mary did so, putting the phone on speaker. "Hello?' she asked as Castle, Beckett, the agent and detective gathered around her.

"Hello Dr. McDouglas," a voice said on the other end.

"Beckie? Beckie please, I need you to-" Mary started to say.

"You don't need anything from us," the woman on the other end interrupted her with. "What we need is something from you."

"Anything, just let me know what my wife-" Mary began.

"It's Skye," Roldan interrupted sharply. "Call her by her name."

"Just let me know that Skye is okay," Mary said, looking at Agent Weir.

"She's just fine, we're reminiscing about you you know," Fuller suddenly said on the other end. "How we all sat in the same place… studied by you, we were all the same."

"No, you were all different, you were my patients at one time," Mary said, her glance going then to Castle and Beckett who both nodded to her. "Hello?" she then asked as she heard silence on the other end.

"We're you able to trace that?" Beckett asked.

"Hold on," Weir replied. He listened to the other end of his phone for a moment and then nodded, "Got a lock on it and it was in West Hollywood."

"That's where your office is," Castle said, looking to Mary.

"That was the connection," the woman breathed as Beckett led her towards the car they'd followed the authorities in.

Castle drove them after the line of cars and said, "I wonder-"

"We'll find out," Beckett said quickly, sitting in the back with Mary; Hayden in the passenger seat with them.

"That's true," Castle replied as he glanced at Skye's wife in the rearview mirror.

"The building has a basement… or on the roof," Mary replied. "But this isn't where I saw her at."

"What about Roldan and Fuller?" Beckett said, looking to her husband in surprise at that news.

"No, I saw them in Westchester…" Mary whispered. "What if they're already-"

"We'll find them," Beckett was quick to interrupt her. "And Skye will be back in time to go with you to pick up your girls."

"Kate-" Castle started to say.

"We're here," Beckett interrupted him then.

Seeing that she was right, Castle parked next to Burke's patrol car and as soon as they were both out he called across the roof what Mary had told them.

"What?" Burke asked in shock. He then took off running, calling for Agent Weir as an officer made Castle, Beckett, Hayden and Mary stop at the sidewalk in front of the building.

Putting her hand on Mary's shoulder, Beckett watched as the agents and detectives headed inside of the building; except for Weir and Burke. "You have another lead?" she asked.

"Where was your original office?" Weir asked Mary.

"It was in Westchester but it's a clinic now," the woman replied hurriedly. "They'd have a hard time getting inside."

"Alright," Weir replied. "Come on Burke," he said to the detective. Before they left the group there he told an officer, "Call if she gets another phone call from the killers."

"It's going to take time," Mary said, her teeth grit together as she looked up and down the building.

"They're taunting you," Castle and Beckett said together.

"I got that," Mary snapped at them both.

"Easy," Hayden said quickly, wrapping his arm around her shoulders. "What were you telling me before? Something with Skye and these two women?"

"We've been trying to figure that out but there's not much that we can find that points to what they have in common except for flying," Mary replied.

"And you," Castle reminded her.

"And me," Mary agreed.

"Maybe if you try and look at their flying…?" Hayden said.

'That's why we were at the airport," Beckett explained.

Hayden grunted slightly before he started to pace after letting go of his daughter in law. "Do you know," he began suddenly. "When she started seeing you she would talk about the others waiting for their appointments?"

"Did she ever mention anyone that worried her?" Beckett asked, feeling a little guilty about butting into the conversation but she knew it had to be asked.

"Not really, she kept to herself during that time," Hayden replied. "And then once she got to know you better she found herself thinking more about you."

"I know she loves me," Mary said, smiling weakly at him. "I always know."

Castle frowned at that and looked at Beckett as she walked over to him while Skye's wife covered her face with her hands. He was about to speak when he saw from the corner of his eye that some of the authorities were coming out. "Did you find anything?" he called over to them. "Yeah, thanks for letting us know," he muttered when they just walked back to their cars.

"What if they don't call," Mary whispered then, wiping at her cheeks frantically. "Where do we go from here?"

"There has to be something else," Beckett said, touched by the woman's stress as she could easily sympathize with what she was going through. "Skye never investigated an accident that they were in." She then suddenly froze and looked at her husband before they said together, "LAX."

Looking over at them, Mary said, "They were both pilots for different airlines."

"Were the hangars always the same?" Castle asked Hayden then. "For every airline?"

"It wouldn't matter, Skye wouldn't be going to the hangars if there wasn't an accident or incident," the man replied easily. He frowned and then told them, "There was nowhere else the three would have gone?"

Mary closed her eyes tightly and then shook her head saying, "I don't know, Skye's been all over the airport but how would we find out where they've been?"

"What if we looked at a map?" Castle asked.

"Is there one you have that will say what's in the hangars?" Beckett said as she realized that might help them out.

"Skye has one, at home," Mary said. She turned to the building and then back to Castle, holding out her hand. "The keys," she told him sternly.

Looking over at his wife for a moment, Castle saw her slight nod and handed them over before they walked after Mary. At the same time he was watching behind them in case Weir came out and thinking that he asked, "You don't think you should wait for Burke at least?"

"She's got that covered," Beckett replied, walking next to the woman and seeing she was texting the officer. "What if he tells Weir?" she pointed out to him. "Or will we be gone by then?"

"We'll be gone," Mary said simply. Reaching the car she barely waited for the others to close the doors before she was taking off and heading for home. The drive was familiar, she did it every day that she had to work, so she had them soon back at the house. She would have run to the office but before she could take off, she felt someone grabbing her arm and looked over to see that it was Beckett.

"Why did she have this map?" she asked Skye's wife as she led her across the yard.

"She just has it," Mary replied. "She has a number of maps from LAX."

They'd entered the house by then and once they had Beckett let go of her and followed her into the office. She watched with Castle and Hayden as the woman was rifling through a cabinet rapidly before pulling out a large paper along with a regular sized sheet. Peering down at it as Mary had laid it out on Skye's desk, she picked up the key that was on the piece of paper and said, "This is up to date?"

"It is," Mary said before she heard the dogs barking.

"How did he get in?" Castle asked as he knew that it was Burke.

"I left the gate open," Mary replied. She saw Beckett look up from the map and Castle glanced at her and said, "I'm not alone here."

"Ms. McDouglas," Agent Weir said then angrily as he came into the room with Burke behind him.

"You found nothing and we had no time to do so ourselves," Mary snapped immediately at the man. "There's somewhere at LAX that they've taken her to and we need to find it before they…"

"My agents, the LAPD-" Weir began.

"If you send them, that will force the killers to react," Beckett told him. "Possibly against Skye."

"We can-" Weir tried to speak again.

"No, there's no place to hide around these hangars," Mary said, pointing down to the map. "You will expose yourself and the others," she then said simply. "And you'll put my wife's life in danger. So no, we search this map until we find where they've taken her."

"What about the outlying ones?" Castle said as all of a sudden he, Beckett and Mary turned to each other without a word.

"That would make sense," Beckett then said. "How many are in use?"

"There are some old, 80s ones that are going to be torn down," Hayden said. "Well, supposed to be torn down they're taking their time doing that. I used to take Skye there as a child and she would play around the jets parked in there."

"They're still in use," Mary said at that point. "As storage for private jets, mostly Beechcrafts and Lears."

"Would they be there?" Castle asked.

"I don't know what connection Roldan and Fuller have to them," Mary replied, shaking her head. She jumped then when the phone on her desk rang and she looked at Weir who'd left them to their discussion. When he nodded she hurried with Castle and Beckett in her wake. Once Weir made a gesture with his finger for her to begin, she picked up the receiver and said, "Hello?" as she pushed the button to put it on speaker at the same time.

"So you thought we went there? That wasn't where we all met each other Dr. McDouglas," Fuller said on the other end. "You need to remember where it was the three of us met you exactly and we'll see you all there Mary, all your friends."

"They know we're tracking them," Castle said. He opened his mouth to say more but then shot an angry look at Weir who was looking at him incredulously and said, "They don't know we're recording though."

"What do you mean?" Beckett asked.

"Do you have equipment to filter out voices?" Castle directed to Weir.

Bringing over a laptop, the agent typed on the keyboard for a moment and then played the recording, looking at the others as the sound of a plane in the background was heard.

"Can you identify that," Burke asked Mary.

"No, but you can," the woman said, turning to her father in law.

"Aye, that I can, that's an A350, taking off…" Hayden said, closing his eyes as he trailed off. "Play that again but see if you can't remove the plane?"

After Weir had typed again, he played the recording and said, "Cars."

"It is," Hayden replied. "And I know where they may be." He led the way over to the map and put all five of his fingertips onto the map, on a cluster of outlying hangars that were at the ends of the northern two runways.

"There?" Weir asked.

"Don't," Mary said as the man was reaching for his phone.

"You honestly think-" the agent said angrily.

"There's two of them there," Mary began.

"If you go the other will be with Skye, they might kill her," Beckett said. She then looked to her husband as Weir started to argue against that and asked, "Castle?" when she saw he was fixed on the map.

"You said Beechcraft and Lear, would they have flown those?" he asked Mary.

"I…" the woman started to say before cutting herself off and rushing over to her desk and the computer. Luckily the site Burke had used was there and she nodded saying, "Yes, they both started out as pilots for private jets…" She searched on the internet and said, "Both companies had Lears."

"That's it," Burke said. "But how do we know which hangar?"

"We can't search," Beckett replied. "And tip our hand." She turned to Hayden and Mary and asked, "Connections?"

"I have one myself," Hayden replied. He took Mary's cell phone that she handed him and then started to dial.

"Skye flew a Lear first when she got her pilot's license, I don't know why I didn't remember that," Mary groaned. "Granted, it was only once so…"

"No wonder you forgot," Castle said reassuringly.

At that moment Hayden hung up and said, "There's two hangars and they're both holding Lears at the moment, DL and FL."

"I'm calling everyone to the airport," Weir told Mary sternly. "But just as a precaution I'm not going to have them flood the airfield or show themselves in any way. But I'm going with you to-"

"No," Mary replied in such a firm tone that the agent was startled into silence. "Ms. Beckett and Mr. Castle are going with me, my friends." She stared the man down until he finally turned to the couple and she watched him try to beg them not to agree to go with her.

"I'm afraid she's right," Beckett said. "But do you know anything about me?"

"I know about your being a deputy to the Hamptons PD, when armed," Weir replied. At the slight surprise on Beckett's face he said, "I looked into you to see why you were involved. I have a weapon in my car but only for the purpose of your protecting her."

At Beckett's nod, the group of them left, except for Hayden who was told to remain with the officers and agents that were coming back, to field any phone calls. They drove out to the airport, Mary leading the way that time as the authorities that followed them spread out on the street.

"Okay," Mary whispered as they neared the security gate. "Hey, I-"

"Yeah, I saw her, she told me to let you come in and come to see her," the man replied before the gate rolled open.

"They forced her into the passenger seat," Castle said.

"With a gun to her," Mary said tensely. She parked near the group of hangars and she then said, "It's FL."

"Wait, Mary!" Beckett said, still getting her seatbelt off as the woman took off out of the car. Before either she or Castle could catch up to her, she'd disappeared into the hangar through a door and she muttered a curse saying, "Weir's going to kill me," as they were running.

"Skye?" Castle said in shock as the sound of someone sliding in the dirt caught his attention at the side of the hangar and he skidded to a stop when he saw it was the woman they'd been looking for, Beckett stopping as well.

"Oh thank god, you found me," Skye replied as she ran over to them, seeming to be unaffected by the blood coming out of the corner of her mouth and the ripped shoulder of her blouse. She grabbed Beckett by the arms and then said, "Mary? She had to come with you they were going to take us both, they wanted us both. Where is she?"

"She-" Beckett began; about to start running for the building as her hand went to her gun.

Before she could finish the hangar behind Skye exploded, flames shooting out towards the three before they were knocked to the ground. The debris rained down and things seemed in complete chaos before abruptly everything stopped and silence descended around them.


	11. Sorted The Truth Out

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The title of this chapter is a lyric from the song Mystical One by George Harrison, from his album Gone Troppo.

Shaking her head, Skye was the first of the three up and she slowly stood before turning to look at the hangar. "Oh god," she gasped as she saw the flames to the right of the entrance that was wide open. "Mary," she then whispered as Castle and Beckett were stepping up to her. "Mary!" she yelled.

"Skye, wait!" Beckett said, grabbing at the woman who merely wrenched her arm from her grasp before she ran into the hangar. She followed her closely, hearing in the distance fire sirens and knowing that help was on its way.

Castle was only steps after his wife and they soon caught up to Skye as she came to the debris from the items that had been inside the building which slowed her down. "We should wait," he said to the investigator.

"Skye," Beckett said as there was no response from her. She had to stop abruptly then as the woman had done so in front of them and looking around her she saw that there were two bodies underneath some sheet metal and plane parts. "It's Fuller and Roldan," she told her husband.

"Yeah…" Castle said before Skye was suddenly yelling.

"Mary, are you here?" the woman said, looking around. Her eyes were searching the debris, so many years of searching it in the field letting her see that there wasn't anything underneath it that would hint at there being another body. "Mary?" she then said, her eyes arresting on a pile.

Beckett sucked in a breath of air as she'd noticed when her friend had and she grabbed her arm saying, "Let me-"

The sound of someone coughing cut her off and the three looked to the back door that had led to an office; the large window in the wall of it blown out.

Skye started to pick her way through the debris on the floor, nearly jumping over it in some places before she saw who it was who had been coughing. "Love, oh thank god!" she said as she helped her wife up.

Castle and Beckett, who'd started to follow and stopped when they watched the two women embracing each other tightly in the office. At the moment Weir appeared behind them with a gun drawn and they heard the yell of firefighters behind them.

"I guess we go out that way," Castle said as they looked behind them and then ahead, seeing they didn't really have any other way to go. He held Beckett's arm as they tried to hurry to the office and said, "I think they both need paramedics," to the agent who was trying to separate them.

"Ma'am, please-" Weir was saying to them.

"Skye, Mary," Beckett said, going to the two before he could say anything else. "You should get checked out and then hurry home to be there when Marie and Kathleen get back home."

The mention of their daughters seemed to be enough to shake the two and they were soon leading the way out. Behind them Beckett handed Weir the gun he'd given her, promising she wouldn't tell his superior about him doing that as they soon followed their friends around the building and to the paramedics that had arrived.

* * *

"So you two and Mary are the heroes in this," Burke said, walking up to Castle and Beckett who were watching an Air Canada plane taking off at one of the runways nearly an hour later.

"Heroes? Great to hear… Who's saying that?" Castle asked in confusion.

"Not me," Burke replied. "But Skye and Mary are thankful and they want to see you."

Sharing a glance as they started to follow the detective to the ambulance where the two were being looked at, Beckett shook her head slightly at his unasked question of if the women were the ones saying that. "It's the media isn't it?" she then said.

"I think I heard something like that from them," Burke said with a nod. "You four can head home whenever you want; they've given their statement too."

"Thank you," Beckett said before the man left.

"Hey," Mary said as she was the first to see them at the end of the ambulance.

Turning, Skye smiled and said, "Quite a strong sensation of déjà vu seeing you two there."

"I know," Castle replied.

"You're both okay?" Beckett asked.

"Oh, doing fantastic just some cuts and bruises from the explosion," Skye answered, obviously talking about her wife.

"What about you?" Beckett then said.

Looking startled, Skye glanced at her and said, "I'm okay. The blood was just from them trying to get a little rough with me, I bit my cheek."

"What about-" Mary started to say.

"Investigator McDouglas, Dr. McDouglas," Weir said, standing next to Castle and Beckett then.

"Are we being debriefed?" Skye asked, tearing her gaze away from her wife to look to the man though not letting go of her hand.

"Essentially, you two were working on this case," Weir replied. "We've done some digging and we found the apartment where Fuller and Roldan were staying."

"Anything of interest there?" Beckett asked as she watched the man take a file from an agent just behind him.

"This, it's copies of a notebook that is in Fuller's handwriting," Weir said, handing that to Beckett. "And Roldan makes some notes on the sides. But looking through it I can see that the two were very much in partnership, though Fuller was the dominant one."

"They were lovers," Beckett said.

"Because apparently they had no choice," Castle then added. When his wife looked at him he pointed at a line of writing and read, " _We satisfy each other for the time being; a means to an end and practice for… them_?"

"Them?" Beckett, Mary and Skye all said at the same time.

When Weir looked at the paper in surprise, Skye said, "You didn't read that yet?"

"Not yet we were a little busy with other things, I glanced at it in the car," Weir said with a frown. He looked to be reading more and then read to the others, " _We're going to have to separate them, for a while and then bring them together_. And then in Roldan's handwriting, _It'll make them see us as merciful, putting them back together again and once they are we'll seduce them. Violet's been practicing on me, it will work_."

Shuddering in disgust at that, Skye said, "Really glad they didn't take that all the way through."

"And that?" Castle asked as Weir tried to hand the papers to Skye who quickly shook her head. He was looking at the agent behind the man and saw that he was holding a tablet. "That was theirs?"

"No, we have something from Fuller's phone," Weir replied, talking the tablet as Burke then joined them. He hesitated and then said, "This might be disturbing."

"They can't really do anything to us now," Skye replied simply.

"Alright," Weir said as Mary was nodding in agreement with her wife.

Once the other agent had pressed play, Fuller's voice began to speak saying, " _I've tried not to give in to this idea of the doctor but I think it's so hard to resist. But we have to have Skye, we must have Skye. I wasn't eager to go along with Beckie but she's become invaluable. I didn't think the bomb idea would work but just a little detonation would be enough to keep the police and everyone else from coming after us. I'm so lucky she knows how the make bombs._

" _And Beckie's the perfect stand in for Skye; she can look like anyone with just the right makeup. And I know just how to transform her; she can be Skye, she can be Mary and then I can fuck her. It's another week until our plans start though, until she's back, I'm getting impatient. Hoping that Beckie won't notice that but luckily she follows me like a dog_." There was a groan and Fuller said, " _I can imagine them both at my feet, begging for me and I want that moment to be real so badly. We're keeping an eye on Figueroa and he's coming back from his trips. I wonder how long the drugs will last for the police… hopefully the Feds won't realize the reason he was killed; the real one._

" _We've been watching Mary for so long now it's become imperative we stay back but it's hard. I think of Beckie dressed as her and I'm touching myself during our stakeout. I shouldn't but there's nothing I can do about that. But we shouldn't be doing this_ ," the woman ended on a near yell. " _But I need them her… her, I need Skye, I need her!_ "

When the recording cut off at that yell, Skye was holding onto her wife as closely as she possibly could and Mary had her eyes shut tightly. "So," she began once she was a little calmer. "Roldan knew how to make bombs?"

"It stems from her childhood," Burke took over for Weir. "Checking into her criminal record she had none. But her brother did, he belonged to a militia in Arizona and he learned how to make bombs for them. He was sixteen when he learned and sixteen years older than Roldan, so he taught her what he knew when he saw her for visits. The family didn't think anything of it, they agreed with the brother's view point."

"Did you call DHS on that?" Castle asked.

"Of course, as soon as we got that story," Burke replied.

"But this wasn't a huge bomb," Mary pointed out. "I wouldn't have survived if it destroyed the hangar."

"Why did it go off?" Beckett asked quickly before anyone else could say a word as she and Castle had been wondering about that for a while.

"Well with regards to the bomb," Burke said; since the LAPD bomb disposal unit had looked at the device used. "It was minor; we think that they wanted a distraction."

"That would make sense," Mary said musingly. She then turned to Castle and Beckett and told them after a quick glance at Weir, "When I ducked into the office I saw them arguing; about Skye disappearing I think…"

"They didn't know I'd scarpered," Skye hurried to say. "They had put me in the trunk of their car, which we all know was there in the hangar. Managed to pop it open and then get out and close it which I was lucky to do undetected while they were on the plane, preparing it."

"Did you see where they were in relation to the car?" Beckett asked Mary.

"They were near the bottom of the steps of the plane," the woman replied. "Sorry _grá_ ," she told her wife as Sky shuddered in remembrance of the damage to the jet. She looked thoughtful for a moment and then said, "The trunk was still closed."

"Wait, you went in the front…" Castle said.

Smiling, Mary said, "Sorry, I forgot the two of you were kind of trapped in the car while I ran out."

"At least you stopped and parked instead of just letting us roll into the building," Castle replied to that.

"That's true," Mary said. "When I got in the two were nearly to the door of the plane and I just ran. I saw the car but didn't have enough time to think that Skye was there as I wanted to hide in case they tried to shoot me with that guns they had. So I ducked into the office and in just enough time to get out of the way of the glass window. But what I heard after seeing them for a second was that they were talking about DL and the bomb going there."

"It was set off accidentally?" Skye then said to Burke. "Did they drop it or…"

"No it had a remote but it was basic, one button, and it went off. From the damage to the bodies we're going to guess that Fuller was holding it and likely during the argument set it off accidentally."

"Yeah they did get cut off," Mary said with a nod. "What about Brent's flight?"

"That was Roldan in makeup trying to frame as many women as possible; Fuller picked her up in Iowa and they flew to Burbank instead from there, which was why we never came across her plane when we were there," Weir answered.

"So I think that's it," Skye said, looking to Beckett.

Thinking for a moment she then said, "Why him?"

"Earlier in the notebook," Weir replied, holding up the file. "They talk about the fact that they met at the Santa Monica Airport and had seen you that same day with Mr. Figueroa. As things got to the point where they knew they needed to really get your attention, they decided since they could do it they became friendly with Figueroa and eventually poisoned him. The computer at the apartment is being searched; it's likely we'll find information on arsenic there."

"And becoming friends with him they knew about his tomato juice drinking," Skye said with a sigh. "What about what happened to my wife at the Promenade?"

"That was them," Weir replied. "It's in the notebook and according to Fuller it was Roldan's idea and one she did not agree with since it didn't let you know it was them. More than likely a desperate bid to get things set sooner."

"It could have been anyone," Beckett commented.

"So that is it," Skye said. She looked at the EMT across from her and Mary and asked, "We're good to go."

"You are," the man said with a quick nod.

"Thank you," Mary said before she waited for Skye to leave the ambulance.

After they'd shaken Agent Weir's hand and Skye and Mary had hugged Burke goodbye; making him promise to bring his wife and children to dinner one night before they left for Hawaii; Castle and Beckett walked with the two to the car.

"Does your dad know you're okay?" Beckett asked Skye.

"I called him in the ambulance," she replied with a nod. "He's relieved and he's going to pick up the girls for us."

Looking at his watch, Castle was about to speak when he realized something and said, "Minimum day?"

"From now until Friday," Skye replied. "We're not sure why they have a full day just Monday but…" She then looked hesitant and asked the two, "Would you mention something to your daughters?"

"Our oldest would be able to guess something happened," Castle replied.

"He's right," Beckett said when the two looked to her. "But they'll notice the scratches on you Mary, so they'll ask."

"We'll explain we had a bit of trouble working with them," the woman said to her wife.

"But we're fine, we're finished, and we have justice at least for Brent," Skye finished for her. "That should be enough."

"If you make it sound like it is," Beckett said.

"Good point," Skye said with a nod. "Okay… do you two minding taking the front?" she asked as they'd reached the car and she looked down at hers and her wife's joined hands.

Castle shared a look with Beckett and with a slight smile held his hand out for the keys. He got into the driver's seat while his wife sat next to him while the couple got in the back. He hadn't wanted to look at them, thinking they'd take some time to show their relief at being united physically but when he had to glance back he saw that they were just holding on to each other. Glancing to Beckett he said, "So you two are going to… rest?"

"Do we make you feel awkward?" Skye asked in slight concern.

"No, just feels a little quiet," Castle replied quickly. "And I'm wondering if we could go out for a little sightseeing."

"And when were you going to tell me about that plan?" Beckett asked in amusement as she looked over at him.

Castle opened his mouth to speak and then paused as the light in front of them turned green and he had to go. Once he had he said, "I guess I was going to surprise you?"

Skye laughed softly as she knew that Beckett was rolling her eyes; though she couldn't see that; and she said, "Where were you planning on going?"

"He doesn't know," Beckett said, looking back at them. "He just thought of that right now."

"Well… there's an art museum somewhere around here isn't there?" Castle asked.

"Why don't we leave that for later love," Beckett said, putting her hand on his leg. "And go somewhere closer?"

"There is a place here in Santa Monica for art," Skye suggested.

"We don't go," Mary replied. "Since it's modern art. We're not really into that, we prefer the Getty."

"That's the one I was thinking about," Castle said.

"It takes time to go through that one," Mary replied. "So I would leave that for another day… maybe tomorrow?"

"You'll be heading there on your own," Skye said. "Mary and I are going to stay home since I have the chance to do that now." She then looked at her wife and asked hurriedly, "You don't have appointments tomorrow right?"

Smiling at her wife's tone of voice, Mary said, "No, I'm free to stay in."

"Great we have things set then… well, except for you two," Skye said. "For tomorrow anyways."

"I take it you don't want to rest," Castle said jokingly.

"We don't need to," Skye said in mock frustration. "But I got an idea of something we can do today. Well, our girls and us if you two prefer to rest yourselves."

"Oh, were we supposed to answer," Castle said after a few seconds of silence.

"No," Mary replied. When Skye looked at her she nodded slightly and said, "I could tell love. She wants to go back to the Promenade."

"For dinner, I feel like we should celebrate," Skye said quickly. "The end of the case but mainly my coming home." She looked thoughtful for a moment before she said, "And summer."

"I'd love to go back," Beckett said. She saw the look her husband was giving her out of the corner of her eye and asked, "What?"

"No I expected me to say that first," Castle said. "But I'm in too. And we can assume your daughters will be too of course."

"Of course," Mary said.

At that moment they were at the house and once the gate opened Castle drove the car to the garage, watching the two women literally scramble out. "So they're happy to be home," he commented to Beckett once they were out of the car.

"Their daughters are too," Beckett said, smiling as she looked ahead of them and saw that the twins had come out of the house and were hugging their mothers tightly.

"Should we go or let them have this very sweet moment alone?" Castle asked.

"I'm not sure," Beckett replied.

"Oh Rick, Kate please," Skye said when she stood then. "You can come inside if you want to." As they were nearing she said, "We're fine you two."

"You're sure you're done working?" Kathleen asked in concern as their mothers had explained why Mary's face was scratched.

"Yeah are they?" Marie asked Beckett when she was near enough.

"They are," she reassured the two girls. "We were there with them when they finished."

"And since we are," Mary said to bring their attention back to her and Skye. "Your mum had the idea of a little celebration."

"For what?" Kathleen asked.

"For the summer, though I know we're not quite there yet," Skye replied.

"And the flight," Mary said suddenly. When her wife looked at her she nodded slightly and then said, "Which we're going on in two days remember."

"We remember," Marie said. "What are we going to do?"

"If you'll let me have a second, I will make a reservation for _PF Chang's_ ," Skye said.

"Will I be invited as well lass?" Hayden said, having been in the house as the family had reunited.

"Of course," Skye replied, going to him and hugging him. "All and sundry are invited. And since these two are so excited I should go make the call, excuse me…"

"Do you have any homework at all?" Mary asked the twins while her wife was on the phone.

"No," Marie said shortly before she went to Beckett. "You're coming with us right?"

"We are," she replied with a smile as the little girl was looking up at her pleadingly. "Your mother invited us to go while we were coming back."

"Oh good, this place is good to eat at," Marie said seriously.

"I thought it would be," Castle said. "Judging by your reactions."

"You've never been to one?" Kathleen asked.

"Never had the chance," Castle replied. He looked to Skye who was coming back over to them and asked, "What is it exactly?"

Smiling at that the investigator said, "Chinese." She laughed slightly when Castle pointed at his wife and said, "No, not because of you Kate but the girls. They love it there."

"Absolutely love it," Mary replied.

"And you," Skye then said to her wife

"And you love," Mary shot back.

"I think it would be safe to say they all like it," Hayden replied. "As do I."

"Dad you better sit," Skye said, seeing him shifting on his feet.

"An old injury, from an incident," Hayden explained to Castle and Beckett who'd looked over at him. "A rough landing and runway overshoot, my brake pedals were down to the ground. I'll still feel it when I've stood without sitting for far too long."

"Like now," Skye said.

"Alright lass I'm going to be sitting, give me a moment," Hayden said in mock annoyance as his daughter took his arm.

Smiling at the sight of Skye making sure her father was alright on the couch, Beckett squeezed Castle's hand and said, "What time are we going?"

"Well, it's about… two fifteen now," Mary said, looking at her phone. "Hmm, time went fast today. Skye?"

"Yes the reservation's at four thirty," the woman replied. "I know," Skye then said swiftly in response to her wife's expression. "It's early but that's the best I could get. Summer _grá_ , remember?"

Sighing, Mary then said, "What time should we leave?"

"Four will be fine," Skye said to Castle and Beckett. "Going to have a bit of a rest?"

"A little we'll also probably call our daughters too," Castle said, glancing at his wife.

"Good idea, you wouldn't need to worry about making it back for that," Skye said.

Saying goodbye to everyone, Castle took Beckett's hand as they left the house and the second they were in the guest house he closed and locked the door before he grabbed his wife. She was just saying, "Wh-" when he crushed his lips against hers, holding her tightly to him.

Beckett was a little startled at that but she was able to recover rapidly and she wrapped her arms around him before parting her lips to his tongue. They started to hungrily duel together until she absolutely had to breathe so she slowly moved away from him, keeping her eyes closed a little longer. When she looked at him she said, "We went through this already," slightly teasingly.

"It doesn't really matter," Castle said seriously. He leaned down, intending to kiss her for as long as they could stand there next to the door when she gently placed her hands on his chest to stop him. "Kate," he groaned in protest.

"I don't think so Rick," Beckett said. "Later though." She stepped back from him and then took his hand before pulling him over to the kitchen. She didn't say a word of what she intended to do but smiled when she heard her husband sit down at the table for two there as she started to get a kettle for some tea for them.

Watching her as she moved around to heat up the water on the small stove, Castle said, "Do you even want to go tomorrow?"

Turning to look at him, Beckett smiled and said, "I think we already settled this."

"Sort of, I kind of sprung it on you," Castle replied.

Leaning against the counter next to the stove, Beckett said, "You did a little but I like the idea. I've heard about the Getty."

"But you've never been," Castle said.

"No but," Beckett said, starting to frown. "The girls are going to ask why we aren't coming home."

"We never told them about the flight did we?" Castle said.

"No," was all that Beckett could say in response as the kettle started to whistle. She hurried to get the tea leaves into the water and took it to the table before she and Castle grabbed their mugs. "But I get the feeling that if we told them Skye invited us they'd tell us to stay for that."

"And then there's the beach house idea that's been floating around," Castle said as they sat down and got their tea ready. He looked thoughtful and said, "Skye mentioned going Thursday after the flight. What if we stayed until Saturday night and then went home?"

"So we're home in time for Father's Day?" Beckett asked.

"Of course," Castle replied.

"That might work we'll have to get the tickets though, on short notice," Beckett commented.

"We have a connection so that might help," Castle replied. "I'll tell her later tonight."

Nodding; though she was tempted to say they should ask right away; Beckett said, "I feel a little weird going to this dinner."

"Oh you did too," Castle said quickly as soon as she'd spoken. "I thought I was alone in that. Yeah it seems like it should be a family dinner more."

"But I bet you anything if we mentioned that to Skye and Mary they'd say they have the chance once we're at the beach house," Beckett replied.

"No bet, I already thought that," Castle said, leaning back in his chair slightly. "See? Still have that awesome connection." He jumped in feigned surprise when his wife slapped his cheek; though it was just barely a tap; and said, "Alright, so we should call them."

Glancing at her watch, Beckett nodded and said, "I'll text my dad."

"I hope Alexis made it in time for the dance class," Castle said before he left with his tea to get the TV ready for their talk.

Smiling as she glanced up at him, Beckett looked down at her phone as she had a response to her text already. She stood and went over to her husband, waiting for him to finish before she turned on the TV.

* * *

"I don't know," Julia was saying to Mari as they walked with Eliza and Jim across the quad to go from the elementary school to her dance classroom. "I think it would be fun even if it was short. Just think of what we could see there."

"Maybe, you have to tell me all about it," Mari replied.

Eliza was idly listening to the two next to her and as Julia opened the door for her she was the first inside to see someone sitting on one of the chairs against the wall. "'lexis!" she nearly screamed.

"Alexis!" Julia cried out when she saw their big sister. She ran after Eliza and hugged her the best she could around the toddler. "You made it!" she exclaimed.

"I know, I managed to go a little faster than I thought I would," Alexis replied, embracing her sisters tightly. "I wanted to try and surprise you and I think I did."

"A lot," Eliza said before kissing her cheek.

"Thank you for coming to my class," Julia said as she suddenly remembered that she needed to change. "And you too Grandpapa," she said, turning back to him.

"You're welcome, you better hurry and change though," Jim told her.

Eliza then went to her grandfather and hugged him before saying, "Do I play?"

"When we get home," Alexis replied, since that had been directed at her.

"So how are you on heading out to England now?" Jim asked; having the chance to ask her then as they waited for the class to start.

"I think I'm finished," Alexis replied. "I have everything I need to ship here to do that and I'll go tomorrow while they're in school."

"I wanna help 'lexis," Eliza said, peering up at her.

"You're going to be in school when I do that though," Alexis said. "But thank you for wanting to. While I'm here I'll want to play with you so you can help me with that."

"Kay," Eliza said with a giggle.

The two were unable to speak more as Ms. Grey called the class to order and the dancers stood in front of her. "Now we only have one more class after this one, so we will have the last of our tests today. Which means we will finish up with the Cha-Cha-Cha tomorrow." She smiled when the students groaned at that and told them, "For now we'll go through the Waltz and Samba. Who'll be first?"

Julia went to stand with her partner against the mirror in the room as they watched the first couple to volunteer. She clapped with the others when they finished their steps and then raised her hand at the same time Peter did to go next. She laughed with him at that and they went to the middle of the room where they waited for the teacher to play music. Once it had begun they began to waltz and with the basic steps they danced a routine they'd had in their last competition until the music stopped which they took as their cue to turn to their teacher.

"Very nicely done," Grey said to them. "You're still trying to hunch your shoulders on the turns Peter and you try and compensate for him doing that Julia. So when we come back we'll work on that."

Breathing out in relief as they went back to the mirror, Julia whispered quickly, "I thought we messed up on the last turn."

"Me too," Peter replied.

As the other students were dancing the Waltz, Julia and Peter watched them until they moved on to the Samba and were the second to dance that. That one they were able to dance more easily and they soon watched the others dancing in front of them once more.

"Hold on," Alexis whispered to Eliza who was fidgeting in her lap towards the end of the class.

Once the students were dismissed by Grey, Jim turned to the toddler and said, "Do you want to run around?"

When she nodded, Eliza waited for Alexis to set her down before she then hurried out onto the dance floor, running around a little before she went to the mirror.

Smiling as the toddler was watching their reflections, Alexis said, "I'm thinking about taking them on a walk. Do you need us to head to the market for anything?"

Thinking that over for a moment, Jim said, "You could take them to the market closest to the house."

"Vegetables?" Alexis asked. At the man's nod she said, "We'll head out after we get home."

At that moment Julia was walking out from the changing rooms and she went to her sister saying, "Want to go?"

Giggling shyly Eliza nodded and reached out to her sister for her outstretched hand before they went to the others who were standing and waiting for them. "Go play?" she asked Alexis and Jim eagerly.

"We will," Alexis replied. "Can you play or do you need to go home?" she directed to Mari.

"No I need to go home," the little girl replied. "Sorry," she said to Julia.

"That's okay," she replied as they held hands while Alexis and Jim held Eliza's hands. "We can play… before we go," she said quickly after thinking for a moment. She smiled and said, "I'll have to get you stuff from everywhere."

Giggling shyly, Mari said, "You don't have to."

"But I want to," Julia said firmly. "I'll surprise you."

"Will you get me just postcards?" Mari asked then.

"Not just those," Julia replied. She then laughed as Mari pouted at her and then slung her arm around her shoulder as her friend did the same to her and they walked in that manner until they reached the Foster home. "I'll see you tomorrow!" she said as they hugged each other tightly.

"Me too," Eliza cried firmly, running over to them and hugging Mari.

"I'll see you in the morning," the little girl said, smiling at Julia at the toddler's exuberance.

After calling goodbye to Mari as she hurried to her front door, Julia and Eliza went to Alexis and took her hands as they went the rest of the way to the house. Jim had opened the door and they were all about to go inside when Julia suddenly stopped.

"What is it?" Alexis asked, feeling that she was pulling her sister and glancing back at her.

Julia glanced up at her sister and grandfather and then shook her head saying, "Nothing, I thought I forgot something in my desk."

Going inside the house Jim watched the little girl very closely, trying to see if she really was alright as he didn't quite believe that she had just forgotten something. He followed the three to the kitchen but before they could reach it he stopped Julia and said, "What is it honey?"

Opening her mouth, Julia was about to say that it was nothing, but then when she saw the concern on her grandfather's face she then said, "I think something happened to Mommy and Daddy."

"You think?" Jim asked, not sure if he should be skeptical about that. He was well aware of the connection that Julia had with her parents but didn't think she could sense something that far away. He then realized that she might have expected something to happen and her mind subconsciously made her experience that at that moment. "I'm sure-" he then started to say.

"No it's okay, they're okay now I think they just had to do something with work that was… scary," Julia said before she smiled. "Let's get something to drink Grandpapa," she said, taking his hand as he looked a little surprised.

Letting her lead the way over to the room where Alexis and Eliza were already drinking some apple juice, Jim had a sudden urge to call his daughter. But when Eliza went to him he quickly shook himself and got a glass.

"So what do you want to do?" Alexis asked.

"Could we maybe swim?" Julia asked.

"Oh wait the market, I almost forgot," Alexis said as she suddenly recalled what she and Jim had talked about during the dance class. "You two want to walk with me to it?"

"Please!" Julia said, Eliza echoing her.

"Alright come on you two," Alexis said. "Jim, we'll be right back."

"Do you need any money?" Jim asked her.

"No, we're good," Alexis said. "And I just had an idea, something to make for dinner that you two can help me with."

"Really?" Julia asked in surprise.

"I think we should make a fruit cocktail for dessert," Alexis said with a nod. "And an exotic one too since the market near here will have some good ones for that."

"Oh, let's go now," Julia said eagerly.

"Yeah, go!" Eliza exclaimed in excitement as she could tell from her sister's voice that making the cocktail would be a fun thing.

"Stay with your sister girls," Jim said, smiling as he followed them to the front door. He was relieved to see that Julia seemed back to normal already and then shook himself, going back to the kitchen so he could start on dinner.

"I'm so excited," Julia was saying to Alexis when they were nearly at the market.

"For dinner?" the young woman asked with a smile.

"No, just for summer to start," Julia said. She thought for a moment and said, "Are you ready for Father's Day?"

"I am what about you two?" Alexis replied.

"We are, we have been for a long time but how are we going to get things to Daddy?" Julia said, speaking quickly as they were nearing the entrance.

"There's time, don't worry," Alexis said reassuringly. She then led the girls over towards the fruit, nodding and smiling at an employee who recognized them. She let go of their hands then and said, "Go ahead and pick but you need to ask me if it'll be good before we get it. Wait!" She smiled when both her sisters froze and said, "You Eliza stay with Julia and don't run around, both of you."

"I wasn't," Julia said immediately. "Come on Lizzy," she said before pulling her to some berries. "These," she said, handing a container of raspberries to their big sister.

"I'll get some blueberries too," Alexis said, getting another container. She followed them around the displays, taking some tangerines, apples, mangos, peaches, dragon fruit and last a watermelon, putting them all into the basket she'd grabbed. "Okay, I think we've got more than enough here," she told the two finally before she led them to the vegetables and started picking out carrots. "It's going to be a huge fruit cocktail."

"Breakfast tomorrow," Julia pointed out.

"It probably will be," Alexis said in amusement. She went over to the registers with them to pay after getting what was needed and she carried as much as she could while the girls had some bags too. "So when we get home we'll make the cocktail and then after dinner play okay?" she told them.

"Okay but I hope we have dinner fast," Julia replied.

"We'll see," Alexis replied before they turned and started to walk down the driveway.

"Grandpapa!" Eliza cried, seeing him on the porch.

"Why is he waving?" Julia asked.

"I- I think Dad and your mom are calling," Alexis said. "Let's walk a little faster but don't run okay?"

"Kay," Eliza said before she started to skip.

"Easy you two," Jim replied, laughing slightly as he saw Eliza. "I told your mother that I'd text her when you're back. Let's get everything into the kitchen and then we'll talk to them."

"Isn't it kinda early?" Julia then asked as they went inside.

"You were gone for a while," Jim pointed out.

"They wanted to look at everything," Alexis explained as she was setting out all the fruit on the island for them to make into the cocktail later. "And discuss if they would all taste good together."

"That makes sense," Jim said, smiling at the girls who seemed to be anxious. He turned and then helped Alexis with everything else, tapping on the watermelon last.

"It sounds good," Julia told her grandfather firmly. "Daddy taught Alexis how to do that."

"He did, it sounds very ripe," Jim said. "Is that everything?" he asked once the young woman had finished.

"That is everything, Julia suggested leftovers for breakfast tomorrow," Alexis told him.

"There'll be enough for that," Jim said in slight amusement. "Okay, everyone to the family room."

Going to stand in front of the TV with her sister, Eliza held onto the bottom of her shirt and watched as Jim soon turned it on. "Mommy, Daddy!" she cried eagerly once they appeared.

Breathing out under her breath as the two looked to be fine Julia said, "Hi Mommy, Daddy you're early today."

"Well if you don't want to talk… Castle said jokingly.

"No!" the girls said at the same time.

"I'm kidding. Hey Alexis," Castle assured them before greeting his daughter. "We're calling you a little early since we can and also because we're going out today with everyone."

"Did you finish your case?" Alexis asked, having been apprised of the reason the two had gone out to LA.

"We did," Beckett answered. "But… we're not going to come home quite yet."

"Okay," Julia said, her little sister nodding next to her.

"You guys are okay with that?" Castle asked, sharing a surprised look with his wife.

"Yeah that's okay," Julia replied. "You can have a little vacation together; remember we said you could go to that house on the beach."

"There's another reason we're staying," Beckett then said. "Skye's going to fly a special plane on Thursday and she invited us to go."

"She's a good pilot," Jim commented.

"She is," Alexis said. "You two should go."

"We will," Castle said then. "We'll try and take pictures if we can. But back to the beach house."

"Dad, we're fine with it," Alexis said. "I can help Jim take care of the girls; we'll have a grandfather-granddaughter stay-cation."

"Okay," Castle said slowly, looking to Beckett.

"Everyone's okay with this," she then said, looking at everyone. When they all nodded, she sighed and said, "We'll try to come back Saturday."

"Could you get tickets that soon?" Jim asked.

"We're going to talk to Skye tonight, she should be able to get us something," Castle replied. "I want to be home for Father's Day."

Smiling as the girls were giggling, Beckett then said, "Okay, time to tell us how your days went. Alexis you're included in that too of course."

"Of course," the young woman replied with a smile.

At her parents' urging Eliza was soon talking about her day at school through to the point where they'd gone to the dance class with Jim. "Now you Jules," she told her sister.

Wrapping her arm around her sister's shoulder, Julia talked about what she'd done that day, mostly covering what they'd learned in their subjects for tests. "I thought I would be nervous about history but I think I'm ready," she told them.

"That's good," Castle said. "And I'm not surprised; you do like history just like your mom and grandpapa."

"Now you can tell them about what you did Alexis," Julia quickly said.

Smiling at that, the young woman did, though she was able to go through her day far faster than her sisters had, since she'd had less to do. "So a definitely relief my Psych final is over," Alexis ended with after she'd stopped at getting to the house and going to the school before Jim and Eliza had.

"I can imagine," Castle said. "You did well on it I'm sure," he told her.

"I think I did," Alexis replied. "So it looks like I'm Oxford bound now."

"You'll be speaking in British very soon," Castle said with a smile as Beckett next to him put her hand on his arm and Alexis looked concerned. "Okay so that was everyone's day, did we play yet?"  
"Not yet, after dinner, we went to get fruit at the market," Julia said quickly. "And after we finish with you we'll make a huge fruit cocktail for dessert with Alexis."

"Better you're playing after that," Beckett said teasingly.

"What about you?" Julia then said.

"Oh we didn't really do much today," Castle said. "Your mom took a ride with Skye and I went with Mary to walk Marie and Kathleen to school. But it wasn't as much fun as taking you two."

"Also because Mommy wasn't with you right?" Julia said.

"Yes," Castle said, smiling at his wife at that. He then turned back to the screen and said, "And after that we just helped Skye with the case until we finished."

"That's it?" Julia said in surprise when he stopped with that.

"We had a little bit of difficulty but that was more because we had to find who was responsible," Castle said, looking at Beckett.

Sighing she then explained slightly what had happened, leaving ou that she'd been kidnapped for a bit as she didn't want to terrify the girls. "But we're fine now and so is Skye," Beckett finished with.

"Are you sure?" Julia asked. When her mother nodded the then turned to her big sister to see what she'd say then.

"What about now?" Alexis asked, smiling at Julia. "You said you're going out."

"We're going to a restaurant and probably the Promenade we told you about before," Beckett answered. "We'll tell you more about what we did tomorrow."

"We'd better get going," Alexis then said. "I'm sure Dad and your mom want to get ready for their dinner and so do we," she told the girls who had looked to her in slight protest.

"Oh she's right," Julia said in remembrance. "The dessert!"

"Then we'll say our goodnights now," Beckett said. "Goodnight Julia, Eliza I love you both so much."

"Night Mommy," Eliza said first. "Love you!"

"I love you too Mommy, night," Julia said with a smile.

"And I love you too Eliza, Julia," Castle told them. "Sweet dreams okay?"

"Kay, love you Daddy," Eliza said, waving to him.

"Night Daddy, love you too," Julia said.

"Welcome home Alexis," Castle told her then. "I can't wait to get back home to see you."

"I know Dad, thanks," Alexis replied with a smile.

After Castle and Beckett had said goodbye to them all, Jim said, "I need to call someone really quickly so I'll meet you guys in the kitchen."

"Can we cut the fruit too?" Julia asked with a smile as they were leaving the family room.

"No," Alexis said, though she was smiling also since she knew her sister was teasing by the way she was grinning at her. "But you can help me wash everything up."

When they had started to do that Julia smiled again as she was running some water over a peach and she said, "I'm really glad that we could keep things from them."

"I know we're pretty good at that," Alexis replied as she slipped a raspberry to Eliza before giving one to Julia at the sink. "Like Dad is."

Giggling Julia said, "I was gonna say that Daddy does that. I can't wait."

"I know but we've got a lot to do still," Alexis replied. "Now let's hurry so we can eat and then play."

With Eliza squealing at that the three started to make their dessert together, all of them thinking of what they were giving their father for the holiday and what his reaction would be to it before they turned their attention to their first night back together.

* * *

"So what did he say?" Castle asked once Beckett had hung up with her father.

"Julia seemed to think something was wrong around the time of the explosion," she replied. "But he has the idea that she was thinking something would happen to us while we were out here so it's likely she thought something happened then."

"But why then right during the explosion," Castle said.

"Why not when I'd been kidnapped?" Beckett shot back.

Castle opened his mouth to reply to that but then he paused and finally said, "Okay, you have a point but did he ask if she had sensed something?"

"I suggested that to him and he'll talk to her before we call tomorrow," Beckett said. "But she seemed to be okay."

"They all did," Castle said with a slight smile.

"Since Alexis is there," Beckett said as she stood up from the couch then. "I would have loved to have seen her surprise them in Julia's class."

"That's true," Castle said as he followed her and went to the kitchen to rinse out their mugs.

"What?" Beckett asked, looking back at him from the stairs.

"No I'm just thinking of the fact that she's right, she's going to Oxford now," Castle said as he quickly dried his hands and then jogged over to the staircase to join her.

"You're proud of her," Beckett said as she took his hand.

"Well of course," Castle said simply. "So her summer has started."

"We'll make it a good one for her," Beckett said, squeezing his hand before they let go of each other.

After they'd changed Castle followed his wife out of the guesthouse and to the main house where they saw that Skye was in the kitchen by herself. "Are we early?" he asked.

"No, but I'm glad you got here," the woman said, looking at them. "First, how're things back at home?"

"Everyone's fine, Alexis is there," Castle said.

"Glad to hear that," Skye said with a nod.

"And we're wondering if you might be able to get us tickets to fly home Saturday night?" Castle then said.

Sucking in a slight breath Skye said, "I can give it a shot but it might be next to impossible."

"Too last minute?" Beckett asked in slight disappointment.

"A little," Skye replied with a nod. "But I'll let you know what happens."

"How're you doing?" Beckett then asked her.

"Fine believe me Mary made sure to check… never mind," Skye said, looking a little shocked at herself.

"Checked to make sure you weren't wounded, yeah I've done that before for her," Castle said quickly to reassure her as he nodded to indicate his wife.

"Okay well yeah, I'm okay," Skye replied. "What I was going to tell you before though is that the girls are begging us to take them to the Pier after we eat. Do you mind heading out there?"

"I'm fine Rick," Beckett said, smiling at her husband who'd looked quickly to her with that. "And no we don't mind in the slightest."

"Great, Marie and Kathleen are intent on you going," Skye then said. "And on the roller coaster with them. I get the feeling they're trying to keep you from becoming homesick. They know I get that way when I'm out investigating away from home."

"They're sweet," Beckett said with a smile.

"Very," Castle said. "And I'm looking forward to that."

Before anyone could say anything else the twins, Mary and Hayden walked into the kitchen and the girls rushed to their mother, begging her to go which they soon did. They split up at the garage and Castle and Beckett were in Hayden's car; the one that Skye had been driving and had been hit at a body shop by then.

"I'm a little surprised," Castle commented.

"She's like me Rick," Beckett told him simply.

"That's true but I honestly hadn't thought she'd want to see that car again," Castle said. "Even with it fixed I thought it would bring back too many bad memories."

"They're big girls you know," Beckett told him teasingly.

"That's true as well," Castle replied.

Beckett reached over to him then and took his hand, squeezing it gently before she said, "I brought my camera."

"You didn't think I noticed," Castle said with a slight smile as he was staring ahead since they'd reached the parking garage and he had to watch Mary driving ahead of them. "We'll bring them, a possible future spring break or something."

Squeezing his hand for him recognizing what she hadn't said, Beckett let him go and when he'd parked was the first out of the car. "I don't know why I've never gone to this place back home," she told him across the roof before they met at the trunk. Since they'd had to park a little further from the McDouglases, they were going to meet them at _PF Chang's_. Letting him take her hand she said, "There aren't any in the city are there?"

"No and none in the Hamptons which makes me a little unsure," Castle commented as they headed up to leave the garage.

"I don't know Skye and Mary seem to like it," Beckett pointed out to him.

"They do and I see them as being refined in their palates," Castle said. He smiled when his wife laughed softly at him and he couldn't help himself, wrapping his arm around her waist. When she leaned her head against his shoulder he was tempted to stop and kiss her at that but he held back as by then they were stepping outside.

"I'm looking forward to the pier," Beckett said, straightening up as they neared the intersection and could see the restaurant on the south west corner. "I'd like a chance to see the ocean from the end."

"Those would make some great shots," Castle said, nodding in agreement. He smiled when his wife looked at him and he said, "I knew where you were going with that already; reading your mind."

"Yeah, I'm sure you were," Beckett said before they crossed the street after the McDouglases and soon met them inside the entry to the restaurant. Since they already had a table reserved for them they didn't have to wait and were gathering around it though it was a booth. She found herself sitting with Skye to her left and Castle to her right who was at the end.

"I find myself quite trapped at the moment," Skye said jokingly, looking around her. "So I hope my neighbors will be kind."

"Mommy will," Kathleen said.

"I believe you're right Kath," Skye said. She then seemed to think of something and asked Beckett, "No one calls you that right?"

"Believe it or not no," Beckett said, shaking her head. She then looked around the table and asked, "Do we get menus?"

"We got the large party one, since there's seven of us here," Mary replied. "We get the lettuce wraps for starters and then we'll decide on three dishes together before getting some lo mein or rice."

"Democratic vote?" Castle asked.

"Essentially," Skye replied. "I would imagine it's the same in your family. We do this all the time, not just because we have guests. So look, see what you want but I have one thing in mind."

"Your favorite love?" Mary asked, taking her wife's hand as Skye was handing the menu to Castle and Beckett.

"Honey chicken," the woman said with a nod as she smiled. "Dad?" At his nod she then looked to the twins who did the same and since she knew her wife would agree with them she looked to Castle and Beckett.

"It sounds good," the latter said. When Castle pointed to something on the menu Beckett asked, "What about the moo goo gai pan?"

"That's something we usually get," Mary said. "Girls, Dad?"

"The sweet and sour chicken," the twins said at the same time.

After everyone had agreed to that Skye turned to the two to her right and told them hurriedly, "If you're looking for a drink I would suggest the Asian pear Mojito, it's what we get and will have."

"I will," Beckett said.

"I'll give the coconut lemon sour a try," Castle said, looking at their waitress who'd come over to them.

After giving their drink and food orders at the same time, Mary said, "I'm sorry if we seem a bit rushed tonight."

"We can understand," Castle replied to that. "They want to go to the pier."

"They do," Skye said, looking fondly over at the twins.

"Are you gonna go on the rides too?" Marie asked.

"I think we will; the roller coaster at least," Castle answered.

"You should go on the Ferris wheel, it's romantic," Kathleen said. "Mommy and Mummy go on it together and we think they kiss."

Coughing slightly Skye said, "Do you two want to head down to the beach at all too?"

"Rose, they have school," Mary said warningly.

" _Grá_ you know that I realize that, I just want them to have the chance to go for a little bit," Skye replied though without any kind of annoyance to her tone of voice.

"For a little," Mary echoed, she smiled when the twins appeared eager at that and looked over at the waitress who was coming over with drinks and their appetizer.

For a while concentration was given to preparing the lettuce wraps with the provided filling and after everyone had eaten a few bites Marie was the first to speak.

"Are you going to come with us or by yourselves?" the little girl asked, sounding shy.

"Would you like us to go with you?" Castle asked with a smile. When she turned red and then nodded he said, "Of course, we'll do what we do with our girls at Coney Island, let them decide who they want to ride with." When he felt Beckett nudge him in the side he was then quick to say, "If that's okay with your moms."

"It is," Skye said in amusement. She looked at Beckett who was taking a second sip of her drink and asked, "Nice isn't it?"

"Very, I'm impressed," Beckett said before she smiled. "You've been to China haven't you?"

"Twice," Skye replied. "The food was not like this exactly if that's what you're asking."

"A lot of Dim Sum?" Castle asked.

"It depended on where you went for the food; there are different types of regional cuisine in the country. You could find that but there are also other kinds available," Skye said. "You two planning to visit?"

"No just wondering," Beckett said. "What about Japan."

"Ah, that's another place Mary and I went to before we had the girls," Skye said nostalgically. "That was the winter after Hawaii, remember love?"

"I do and it was freezing, the baths were nice though," Mary replied.

"They were," Skye replied before she laughed. "Remember that one woman that told me I should try the wine baths they have in the country?"

"I do, and me the sake baths," Mary said.

"I've heard of that but never got to see them," Castle told the two women. "I've always wondered what that looked like."

"I would imagine interesting," Skye said.

Beckett was about to speak then when she saw that their food was arriving so she had to cut herself off before she should start. She glanced at the investigator next to her and decided to try her question at a better opportunity before turning her attention to the food.

"Are you doing alright Dad? You haven't said much," Skye eventually said once they'd been eating for a while.

"Oh all well and good I've been starving, not much in the way of a supper," Hayden replied.

"I don't think any of us adults did," Mary said, glancing around the table.

"No I think you're right," Skye said. "Okay girls we do need to walk after this," she then said to the twins. "So since you want to go to the beach I say we head down over the bridge and walk from there."

Sighing, Mary said, "Are you sure it's not you that wants to go?"

"Oh alright you got me," Skye said in mock defeat as their daughters giggled at her tone. "I'd like to check out the surf."

"Fine but you two are in no way compelled to join us," Mary told Castle and Beckett.

"We don't mind," he told them, his wife nodding next to him. "But at some point we might break off to take a look at the end of the pier."

"Don't look at night," Marie said.

"Why not?" Beckett asked in surprise.

"It's scary," Kathleen said, her twin nodding in agreement next to her.

"Well we'll try and be brave if it's dark," Castle said, smiling at the expressions on their faces. "And if we don't like it we'll come running back, screaming like girls." He glanced at Beckett and said, "Okay I'll be running and screaming like a girl."

At the twins' laughter the group went back to their food and continued to eat, talking about the meal and a few other things until they had finished and were leaving together for the beach.

Walking behind the family, Beckett was holding her husband's arm, her hand wrapped around the top of it saying, "This has been nice."

"I know I'm glad we decided to do this," Castle replied. "We never told the girls did we?"

"We said we were," Beckett replied, laughing softly. "But we knew their answer already." She had expected her husband to reply to that and when she only had silence she looked over at him, seeing him looking ahead. Her attention went to pier and she smiled as she knew what he was obviously looking at. " _You want to go on that_?" she asked him.

"I think I do, you're going to come right," Castle said, looking to her then. "It would be pretty lonely going on that alone if it's supposed to be romantic."

Shaking her head and smiling, Beckett stopped with him as they watched Skye and Mary separate from their daughters and Hayden to go closer to the breaking waves. "They look pretty good," she commented.

"You're well versed in surf love?" Castle asked teasingly.

"Oh sure," Beckett said. She saw the slightly raised eyebrow that he was giving her and said, "I think so, that guy is having a nice time," as a man took a wave with a loud, exhilarated yell.

"Alright," Skye was saying when she and Mary went back to their daughters. "Let's go and tackle those rides."

"Shouldn't you play some games first?" Hayden said. "We've all only just eaten lass."

"Girls-" Mary started to say as they reached the stairs leading up to the pier.

Skye let go of her wife's arm as she'd looked back to Castle and Beckett and told her quickly, "We'll catch you up." She went back to the two and said in a low voice, "It happened here?"

"It happened here," Castle replied.

"We're not sad or having bad memories," Beckett began.

"Just flashbacks?" Skye supplied for her. When the woman looked at her, startled, she smiled briefly and said, "I've done that myself. Come on, you'll have better memories after going through the rides and games."

With that Castle and Beckett followed her up to the pier and they went after the others to the amusement park where they already were heading to the midway games.

* * *

"I hope Mommy and Mummy have a good time on the Ferris wheel," Marie was saying to Beckett as they waited in line for the roller coaster nearly an hour later.

"I'm sure they will," Beckett replied. "I'm surprised you didn't want to go with them first on this."

"We've been with them a lot and we will when we come back," Marie replied before the cars pulled into the station then. She stepped into the second to last row and said eagerly, "This is so fun! There's a bump and you fly out of the seat but this keeps you inside."

"That'll be interesting to feel," Beckett said with a smile at her enthusiasm. She glanced back at Castle, seeing that Kathleen was telling him much the same. At that point the cars began to move and she faced forward as Marie next to her screamed and they laughed loudly.

The roller coaster was a short ride around the edge of the pier but it was done twice before they were let off the ride to walk down to Skye and Mary who were waiting at the exit. They took their daughters and Castle and Beckett walked to the Ferris wheel after agreeing to meet the family at the cupcake place by the parking garage in forty minutes.

"So still having fun?" Castle said as they waited in line.

"Of course, Julia would have loved that," Beckett replied.

"And the bumper cars earlier; Eliza too," Castle agreed with a nod. "This I'm not sure."

"You know Julia doesn't like the old fashioned Ferris wheels, this one she might be okay with," Beckett replied.

Castle could only nod to that quickly before they were being let onto a car and he was quick to sit next to her, wrapping his arm around her shoulders when they started to move. "Wow, now I see what they meant," he said when they were a bit above the pier.

"You've never been here before," Beckett said incredulously.

"I've never been with someone who wanted to go," Castle said simply. "So now you're special to me for that reason."

"Oh, please don't become sappy with me love," Beckett said, rolling her eyes in mock annoyance.

"Come on, with this view," Castle said as they looked out at the ocean and the sunset. "How could you not be? Or right now?" he added when they were stopped at the top. He glanced at his wife then and he leaned over carefully, kissing her gently on the lips. He was a little startled when she suddenly grabbed him and kissed him as hard as she could. He had to scramble a little to catch up but finally he did and he held her close before they had to part when they began to move again.

Leaning against him, Beckett initiated a few more kisses when they were up at the top again and had stopped. They were quick and nowhere near enough for her but she told herself, as she brushed her lips to his before they descended from the top again, that she would do much better later and that thought made her squeeze his arm tightly before they came to a stop once more.

* * *

"Pretty cupcakes, pretty cupcakes," Marie was singing softly as she and her twin sat with Castle and Beckett while their mothers walked over.

"Grandpa got home okay didn't he?" Kathleen then asked.

"He's fine and remember he has his old car," Skye told them. When she saw the slightly perplexed expressions on her friends' faces she explained, "He has a '62 Ford Falcon, his pride and joy as he essentially put that together himself."

"Interesting choice," Castle said.

"It was the first car he owned here in the US," Skye replied. "And he wanted one again as a nostalgic piece. But he does drive it of course."

"We cut your cupcake into half," Mary was telling the girls then as she handed out plates with the cupcakes they'd picked before returning home. "And it's even so no squabbling."

"We won't," the twins said at the same time before they started to eat.

They were around a fire pit that was next to the pool and for a time they were quiet, watching the flames dance on the blue and clear glass in the middle as they ate. Eventually Skye spoke up saying, "You've decided then?"

"The beach house? Yes, we'll go for sure but only until Saturday night if you can get those tickets for us," Beckett told her.

"Okay then here's the key, I know you're not going yet but this is for safe keeping," Skye said, handing said key with a keychain attached to it to her. "And there's a code for the gate to go in, it's 8010 and then the star and hashtag buttons."

"We're not leaving until after the flight though," Castle said.

"Saves you time," Skye said. She began to speak before pausing and then finally went ahead telling them, "My dad asked if the girls could spend the night into Father's Day so we were thinking of joining you there for sure, if that's alright."

"It's not our beach house," Beckett said with a smile. "So yeah, if you want to go too go ahead."

"Great," Skye said with a smile. "So now that we know you're going, we'll fill you in on a few things."

Castle and Beckett shared a surprised look at that before the two women started to speak and they nearly laughed to realize that instead of telling them on how to keep the house clean or something like that, they told them about Laguna Beach and what there was to do and where to eat. After they'd finished their cupcakes Skye and Mary took their daughters inside and the two were left alone by the fire.

"After everything they said I'm looking forward to it more," Castle told his wife.

"I know it'll be nice and now I see why the girls pushed us to go," Beckett replied. "It does sound romantic."

Nodding Castle said, "I wanted to ask Mary what she thinks about the two."

"I was thinking the same," Beckett replied. "Nothing better than to have a psychiatrist for a friend to ask their opinion on something."

"Think she's ever done couples counseling?" Castle asked. He laughed then his wife pushed him and said, "I'm just curious about one thing."

"Don't mention our lovemaking," Beckett said, shaking her head. "It's more than likely you'd gross her out with that. Not the doctor part of her," she was quick to say. "But the other part."

Castle just smiled at that and they waited for the two to come back out to them, which happened sooner than expected. "They were tired?" he said in a suggestion.

"They were which is a relief, Thursday may be a nightmare," Mary replied. "So what do you want to know?"

"So you're a psychiatrist and psychic, that's-" Castle started to say before Beckett placed her hand on his arm. "Sorry, we're wondering what's your take on Fuller and Roldan after everything… if you even want to talk about it."

"No it's fine, I've been mulling this over in my mind for a while," Mary said, looking at her wife and taking her hand. "I can't make a comprehensive diagnosis of course but I get the feeling that it was in fact both of us they wanted," she said. At the slightly surprised looks on their faces she explained, "They focused on Skye but you heard what Fuller said about making Roldan up to look like me. They wanted me too but their minds saw me as their doctor still. So what they did to combat that was to try to get Skye away from me. As if they were fighting their temptation that way… not really that well as you saw."

"The letters," Skye said.

"They must have thought you'd run to them and that's what they wanted," Mary replied. "You without all that conflict of the fact I was their doctor. Never mind the fact that I'd stopped being that a while ago. And I think, besides they fact that you're a gorgeous woman _grá_ , they saw redemption in you."

"Because I was able to continue," Skye said.

"But she was never really in any psychiatric trouble," Beckett pointed out.

"That's why they were saying that," Skye said in realization. When the others looked at her she was quick to explain to them, "Before they shoved me in that trunk Fuller was telling me that I shouldn't have met you love, I should have just been free for them."

"Wow, that's ironic since it's because you had to see Mary they first saw you," Castle commented.

"They were unbalanced, obviously," Mary said, shaking her head.

"I wonder," Beckett said, looking at the fire. "If Fuller had gone to you-"

"No I wouldn't have, because I wasn't ready at that point to consider dating," Skye said before she had finished her question. "It took her to make me."

Snorting, Mary said, "Make you, I did nothing _grá_ , you were ready. You just had to find me."

"She's good at reverse compliments," Skye said, rolling her eyes before smiling. "I wonder now, after everything is said and done, could they have just worked things out together?"

"They were set in their minds on you," Beckett said.

"Too bad, they might have been able to help each other," Castle replied. "But to keep thinking what they needed was you…"

"It's sad," Beckett finished for him before he nodded his head.

"I'll agree to that," Skye said. "Alright we're going to head to bed, we're… absolutely knackered after today. You two are still heading to the Getty?"

"We'd like to," Castle said. "Any idea what time it opens?"

"You've been there before," Beckett said teasingly as they all stood up. "You don't remember?"

"Ten," Mary said. "Ten every day they have it open. You'll enjoy it Kate."  
"That reminds me, I should get my camera charged," Beckett said. She then went to Skye and hugged her tightly saying, "I'm glad you made it out of this okay and managed to find the killers."

"Yeah I nearly forgot," Skye said with a sigh before she and Beckett let go of each other. "Samantha called me and she's going to take Brent's ashes tomorrow morning at nine thirty so we'll be heading out."

"A private service?"Castle asked.

"It is, just her, the two of us and Doug and his wife," Skye answered, sounding a little grim. "We're heading to the ocean at the end of the runways at LAX; where we can safely go. That was his last request."

Castle glanced at Beckett, unsure of what they could say to that, and he cleared his throat saying, "Would you like us to come back to pick up your daughters or something?"

"No we'll be finished by then," Mary said quickly. "We're going to drive around a little after that so if you want to contact us… that's what we'll be doing."

"We'll see you tomorrow, night," Skye said before the other two said goodnight to her and her wife.

Watching Mary wrap her arm around Skye's shoulder Castle said, "She should be okay."

"Of course," Beckett replied with a slight smile. "Come on, we should get some sleep ourselves."

Nodding Castle let her take his hand, leading him around to the front of the guesthouse before they slipped inside together.

* * *

Coming out of the bathroom some time later Beckett watched her husband as he was sitting up in bed, looking at the screen of his phone. "Okay?" she asked him.

"Yeah just… thinking," Castle said, jumping a little at the sound of her voice before he shook his head and set the phone aside. "Feel better?" he asked her.

"Much, sorry for the separate showers but I am tired," Beckett replied.

"Knackered?" Castle asked. When she smiled at that he did so too but had a distinct feeling that wasn't reaching his eyes as she suddenly frowned while she watched him. "What?"

"It's no use Rick," Beckett said, going to sit on the edge of the bed next to him. "You're remembering Dunn aren't you?"

"And Harris," Castle said with a sigh as he'd been about to protest that but knowing from the expression on wife's face she wouldn't let him. "Yeah I thought… again, she's gone again and it's even worse because we're across the country from Brad and the boys who could help me," he told her as he leaned back against the headboard.

"But I made it back to you," Beckett said simply, cupping his cheeks gently.

"I know but you're aware of the time you have after you find out I'm gone, where you wonder how you'll explain it to the girls… the rest of the family…" Castle said, sighing as he tilted his head back. "I hate that feeling." He was startled when his wife suddenly moved and he looked at her as she climbed onto his lap, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"Which was why you were so glad to see me you had a hard time letting me go," Beckett reminded him.

"That's true," Castle said slowly. "And you?"

"I was happy to see you," Beckett said, shaking her head briefly. "But since I'm back let's focus on what we have coming up."

"A lot of stuff," Castle said, hearing his wife murmuring in agreement to that. "Yeah… a lot."

"Good, now," Beckett said simply before she make him look at her by cupping his cheeks and then leaned down. She could feel his instant surprise when she kissed him but was relieved when he suddenly responded, wrapping his arms around her as tightly as he could. She was about to try and slip her tongue into his mouth when he abruptly beat her to it and she playfully dueled him before they parted. "Hmm, quick recovery," she said.

"I am resilient," Castle said. "You know that from personal experience."

"Oh I know, I'm still trying to figure that out though," Beckett told him.

"Beats me, remember my doctor doesn't know either so let's just enjoy that while we can," Castle said before he brushed his lips to hers. "I think it's due in large part to you." He saw what she was going to say in react to that immediately and then told her, "That's not me trying to get you to take off your clothes, I'm just stating a fact. You've made a study out of me didn't you?"

Smiling as it didn't surprise her that her husband had figured that out, Beckett said, "You said once there was a 'mystery of me' that you wanted to figure out."

"It wasn't that," Castle said hurriedly. "Well that was a part of you so I guess in a way it was. But no, what I meant was-"

Beckett covered his mouth with her hand and said, "You know you're the same." At his flabbergasted expression she smiled and told him, "You're a harder man to read than you think Rick. It's taken some time but I think I've learned more of you than any woman has."

"Mainly because I didn't let them do that," Castle told her somberly. "I didn't trust them." He thought he was going to have to protest that as a statement of fact instead of a blatant compliment but when she kissed him sensuously then he realized she'd understood him. He held her tightly, kissing her back before he broke off the kiss as they slowly pulled apart. "I love you," he said earnestly. "I'm in love with you Kate. And I've never thought enough of another woman to say that, it never became as intense as it is with us. Like it still is."

Smiling at that and touched as she could hear the sincerity in his tone Beckett gently brushed her lips to his and murmured against them, "I love you too Rick and am still very much in love with you. You know I never let myself think that far with anyone until you. And I intend for this to last… for a very long time."

In response to that Castle kissed her deeply on the lips before he felt her starting to respond rapidly to him. He shuddered at the feel of her hands caressing the back of his head and then pulled away.

Beckett closed her eyes tightly as her husband proceeded to kiss his way over her jaw before descending to her neck. He was very careful and gentle until he reached her pulse. She felt him kiss her a little harder there before he pulled away and she was quick to take his lips before he could do so to her.

After a while things calmed down between the two as they became a little less frantic in the press of their lips against each other. When they'd finally stopped they parted and Castle helped Beckett to the other side of the bed where she lay on her back. Kissing again they were caressing one another but being very careful at the same time to not get out of hand. They were just able to do so and when they finally parted they pressed their foreheads together for a long moment before they lay back.

Gathering his wife into his arms, Castle held her closely before he said, "We should be sleeping right?"

"We should," Beckett said with a slight smile as she knew that was supposed to be an opening for her to say no. She tilted her head up to look at him where she was resting it on his shoulder and said, "I'm looking forward to tomorrow like I said."

Taking the unsaid message she was conveying with that, Castle said, "You will like it, Skye wasn't kidding. And they have; but I didn't get to see; a photography section."

"Why were you there?" Beckett asked.

"I asked where would be a nice, classy place to take a woman in the city, sophisticated," Castle replied. "And the Getty was suggested as they were having a dinner that night to open a new exhibit. But the woman I was with wasn't exactly too eager for artwork and we just ate and then looked at a few paintings before she dragged me out to a club. I guess I misjudged her by… quite a lot."

"That's an understatement," Beckett replied with a smile as she reached up to cup his cheek and tilt his head down to hers. She kissed him but it was a quick, chaste one that had her soon lying down again. "You didn't see much did you?"

"The medieval artwork," Castle replied. "So it'll be great to see everything… well, almost everything." He then recalled something and said in a rush, "There's also a garden there, I've heard it's very beautiful so you should get some great pictures there."

Smiling at that, Beckett pressed a kiss to his jaw and said, "I probably will."

Castle was a little startled when his wife suddenly pushed herself up above him and then leaned down, crushing her lips against his own. He remembered their discussion of needing to get to sleep but decided that since she didn't seem to need it yet, neither did he. And with that he let himself get a little lost in her, turning Beckett onto her back before they proceeded to duel passionately together.

* * *

Beckett slowly opened her eyes, looking over at the alarm clock on the nightstand on her side. She couldn't see what it said and was about to reach for her phone instead when she heard a groan of distress next to her. Forgetting about the time she whirled around onto her other side and reached for Castle, just barely able to see the way his face was contorting in reaction to whatever he was seeing in his nightmare. "Rick?" she whispered gently, brushing her fingertips against his cheek and hoping that would be enough to draw him away from what he saw.

Castle's face contorted again until suddenly his eyes flew open and he sat up gasping out his wife's name. He panted heavily before he jumped as he felt a hand on his back. Licking his lower lip he looked at Beckett and said, "You're here."

Though she'd already suspected what he'd been dreaming, Beckett nodded at what he said and she gently brushed her hand over his cheek as she held onto him with the other arm. "I am Rick, it was a nightmare," she said soothingly.

"Yeah, I know, I just thought…" Castle said, calming down then. He rubbed his face with his hands and then grabbed her, pulling her onto his lap before he hugged her as tightly as he could. "I was running down that street where you got out of the van and it was… deserted. I was supposed to find you but you weren't there," he said.

Pressing her cheek against his Beckett murmured, "You didn't know, no one did."

"Yeah," Castle breathed out. "You think Mary might be going through something similar?"

"More than likely," Beckett replied. "But you two did what you could; you to look for me and Mary to look for Skye." She then cupped his face with both of her hands and tilted his head up so he was looking at her.

"What?" Castle asked, surprised at the expression on her face as he couldn't really discern what it was trying to convey. When she leaned down to kiss him he slightly groaned before he pulled away to say, "You don't need to."

Looking at him in surprise, Beckett then smiled and gave him a peck on the lips before she stood up after getting off of the bed. " _Come here_ ," she said gently, taking his hand and pulling until he'd moved to sit on the edge of the bed.

"What?" Castle again said as he was having a harder time figuring out what she wanted. Though he wasn't too concerned with her using Irish to tell him to move.

With him watching her, Beckett took off her shirt and she couldn't help smile when his eyes immediately widened in reaction to that and she pulled off her pants and panties at the same time. Before he could say anything she was pulling on his hands to make him stand up.

Castle quickly leaned down and kissed his wife before she could move and he then stepped back from her, taking off his shirt. He let her help him with the rest of his clothes and as soon as he was naked, gathered her in his arms. He shuddered in pleasure at the feel of the warmth of their bodies against each other and whispered, "You didn't need to."

"No but I thought you might enjoy this, you were sweating a little while you were dreaming," Beckett told him. She then took his hand before slipping out of his embrace and led him into the bathroom.

Surprised when she dampened a washcloth, Castle was going to say what he had before again but she didn't give him a chance. She started to rub his body with the cloth and he shuddered at the air against his damp skin before she was running it over his chest. He opened his mouth to speak before she leaned over, kissing his skin before he stopped her. "That you definitely don't need to do," he told her when she looked up at him.

Smiling as she could tell that he was strained with the tone of his voice, Beckett murmured an insincere apology and then continued with what she was doing before she reached his groin. There she became a little careful until she tossed the washcloth aside to the sink and she gasped as he was suddenly picking her up in his arms. "Rick! You-" she began to say as he carried her to the bed.

As soon as he'd set her down, Castle started to kiss her but was a bit hurt when she pulled away from him. "You-" he started to say.

"No not that," Beckett replied to his unasked question. "Come here."

Getting on top of the bed then, Castle grunted slightly as she made him turn around onto his stomach before he lay down. "You…" he then tried to say yet again before he trailed off on a deep groan as she had started to massage his back.

"I wasn't really trying to start that," Beckett then told him, leaning down so she could kiss the shell of his ear. "You need to sleep."

"Oh, you're tired?" Castle asked, pausing a little before he finished as he was enjoying the feel of her hands working into his skin.

"You are too," Beckett told him simply as she kept her eyes on his back.

"We didn't really need to disrobe," Castle couldn't help tease her with. "You could have just taken off my shirt."

Smiling; as her plan to distract him from his nightmare was moving along fabulously; Beckett said, "You make a good point but isn't this a lot better?"

His left eye roving over what he could see of her body behind him, Castle commented, "It would be if you were within viewing range."

"That wouldn't work," Beckett replied wryly.

"I think you could make it work," Castle replied easily. When she pinched his right shoulder he laughed and said, "You're so rough Ms. Beckett."

"Hmm, I can be," she said before she let go of him. When he turned and immediately sat up she was a little uneasy, not sure if he was going to try and initiate something after that. But when he merely gathered her up into his arms she relaxed and embraced him tightly back saying, "Better?"

"Yeah," Castle said, turning his head slightly so he could kiss her temple. "You're insanely good to me Kate, any reason?"

Pulling back slightly so she could look at him, Beckett said, "Just repaying what's been done for me."

Thinking about that for a moment, Castle nodded and said, "That's true. But we're even now."  
"How?" Beckett said, pretending to be serious in her frown.

"Because… I don't know, I don't want you to feel like you have to owe me anything," Castle said, exasperation seeping into his tone without him noticing. "What?" he asked as his wife had started to laugh softly, covering her mouth with her hand.

"You really mean that," Beckett said finally.

"Of course," he said. He then ran his hands up and down on her back as she was still laughing and he murmured, "But if you wanted to let me do something right now…" he started to say.

"You can but we should get back to sleep," Beckett told him though he was already starting to massage her back before she'd finished speaking. She groaned a little when he found a knot quickly and was soon startled when he paused. "What?" she asked him, her eyes wide.

Castle didn't say a word, instead he had her lay down on her stomach and pressing a kiss to the back of her shoulder he murmured he loved her in Irish before he went back to what'd he'd been doing with her in his arms. "I think we both needed this," he said after a while and he'd worked through a number of knots judging by the groaning his wife was doing.

"I know but I thought we should rest, get ready for the beach house," Beckett commented with a pleasurable sigh as he then finished. She was about to turn over but before she could do so she suddenly jumped when she felt him slapping her ass. It was done carefully but as she turned over she narrowed her eyes at him. "Always have to touch," she said as she playfully tried to grab the bed sheet to pull it up over her body.

"Oh no, there's no reason for that my love," Castle protested, pushing it out of her way. "And you were enjoying that massage so I don't think you can complain about me touching."

Smiling at that Beckett was about to speak when her husband's hand suddenly came to rest on her abdomen, sliding down to her side carefully. While the touch was enjoyable what almost had her gasping for dear life was the look in his eyes. Before she could voice a response to it he was leaning over, kissing at the side of her neck a few times. She arched it back, giving him better access which she soon felt him taking advantage of. "Rick…" she whispered as he went lower, down to the hollow of her throat.

"I can't…" Castle said, looking to her as his hand seemed to be moving of its own volition, cupping her right breast. "Kate, tell me to stop," he then said, his voice changed from its desperate timbre to a more demanding one. When she shook her head no he nearly groaned aloud as he had her permission there and he moved to get between her legs that were spreading easily for him. "I'm sorry," he felt he needed to say.

"No, never Rick I told you I wouldn't stop you when I need you too," Beckett replied. She was a little started when he didn't move to enter her and instead kissed her though she tried to recover and respond the fastest she possibly could. Once she had she found herself going rigid as he was gently fondling her clit with his first two fingertips. She broke off their kiss after she couldn't take it anymore and whispered to him, "I can't… you know I'm ready for you!"

Shaking his head, Castle leaned down until he could flick out his tongue to her breast, going against the nipple that he was pleased to see soon harden further than it was. "I adore you," he whispered as he sank into her, his voice not entirely steady while he said that as she was incredibly tight around him.

"So do I…" Beckett started to say. She had tried to speak quickly to be able to finish that but he wasn't letting her, starting to move and make love to her almost immediately. "Oh god, this is why we can't stop," she said when she could after matching him in his slower, more purposeful pace. "I…"

Not surprised she couldn't describe in words too well why that was; he had the same problem himself; Castle kissed her gently to match their bodies, for as long as he could until they slowly parted to breathe. " _We just let this take us over_ Kate," he whispered to her, having to pause a bit in between a few words.

If she hadn't been feeling him so deep within her, Beckett knew she would have smiled a little at how sincere he was. But she was also touched at the fact that he was so serious about that and she finally was able to speak telling him, " _We always do_ ," not able to put it much more eloquently than that. She put her hand on the back of his head, dragging him down to her as hard as she could until their lips crushed together tightly.

That kiss preceded many more as Castle and Beckett took their time making love together, forgetting their need to sleep very easily. When they finally lost control they nearly pushed themselves to another climax before their bodies stopped, exhausted and leaving them feeling slightly weak as they panted, trying to recover their energy.

"Now should we sleep?" Castle asked once he'd gotten off of her and took her against his side.

Yawning slightly Beckett looked at the time on her phone, a little startled to find it wasn't as late as she thought but it was the next day. "I guess," she said before she lay back down against him.

"You guess," Castle said in amusement.

"If you want to then why not," Beckett replied. She smiled then as she heard his slightly annoyed groan under his breath and said, "What would you like to talk about?"

"Thank you," Castle said jokingly as he pretended to be annoyed still. "You said we needed to get some rest for the beach house. That's not for two more days… actually just one but still, a while. What happened to the Getty?"

"We're still going," Beckett said, reaching up then and gently running her fingertips back and forth over his shoulder and collarbone. "But I'm thinking we should probably rest for the beach house now because I have an idea already of what we'll be doing."

"Shouldn't be so presumptuous," Castle said simply. He couldn't help laugh under his breath when she raised her head to look at him and he leaned down, brushing his lips against hers. "That'll likely happen but I plan on getting you out to the beach too of course."

"Of course," Beckett said with a smile as she then ran her fingers over his jaw. "I think I have to agree, I want the same."

"What, that we'll stay in bed?" Castle said.

Giving him a look, Beckett then said, "No, getting you out to the beach."

Laughing shortly then Castle said, "We've done that how many times before?"

Smiling as she'd thought of that herself Beckett said, "I think on your part you want to show me off."

"Slightly," Castle replied. At his wife's surprised look he said, "The other half would be you in your bikini."

"I should have known," Beckett said, shaking her head. She leaned over and kissed him, not surprised when he suddenly slipped his tongue into her mouth before she could do that to him. That time she quickly fought back, pushing him into his mouth before they were rubbing against each other slowly. When she moved away, breathing deeply she smiled and then said at the same time as him, "Mostly in bed."

"Yeah," Castle said as he started to rub her back. "Well… since we're not spending that much time there, I swear that we'll spend more time out of bed during the day than in it."

Nodding in agreement, Beckett lay back down and said, "Especially Saturday." She felt her husband tense slightly under her cheek where she'd rested it on his shoulder and smiled saying, "You forgot they were going?"

"I did in fact… you're distracting," Castle said, reaching down then to gently cup her ass. "Vixen," he breathed to her.

Beckett rolled her eyes but she then said, "I don't think I had much to do with that. But I think we should take them out to lunch if they come early enough for it."

Castle nodded to that, knowing she'd feel it, and then said, "You're tired?"

"You can tell?" Beckett asked.

"You're slumped against me," Castle said, stroking her hair then. "It wasn't too much?"

Beckett smiled at that and then spoke saying, "You haven't asked that in a long time."

"Force of habit," Castle replied simply. He didn't realize it then but his fingertips were just barely brushing against her spine. But he did notice that she was shivering gently and he looked down at her, doing that a few more times to watch her.

"That's a little too much," Beckett replied, sounding like she was struggling with herself at her reaction to him.

Castle stopped and then leaned down to brush his lips against the top of her head before she moved again. When she gently kissed him he took her in his arms and swiftly turned her around onto her back, deepening their kiss as he plunged his tongue into her mouth.

Fighting against him the best she could, Beckett wasn't too surprised to find herself easily losing before she had to pull away with a gasp as she needed to breathe badly. "Again, there are a lot of reasons we have a hard time not being able to resist each other," she said as she looked into his eyes and could see what he was going through there. "But then again I don't think I mind that."

"Neither do I," Castle said before he lowered his head and kissed her again. Their lips were crushed together a third time and it went on for a couple more instances until they were panting completely. He held her to his side after lying on his back, concerned he was pushing her too hard after so much exertion after he'd woken her up. He knew already she'd say he was being crazy since it wasn't the first time they'd done something similar to what they had that night but he wanted to make sure they would be up the next morning.

Beckett was thinking along the same lines that he was and she smiled before she kissed him gently saying, "Good night Rick."

"Night love," Castle replied. It took little time after she'd lain down for her to fall asleep, her body limp in his arms when she had reached that point. He stroked her hair a few times and then let the rhythm of that and her breath across his chest lull him to sleep, knowing that she was feeling the same satiety that he was. When he began to dream he was relieved to find what he felt was influencing them when he finally reached them, seeing he and Beckett together, nearly feeling their desire for each other all over again as there was a part of him that knew she was doing the same as well as she slept deeply against his side through the rest of the night.


	12. Got To Tell You, Goodbye

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The title of this chapter is a lyric from the song Mother by John Lennon, from his album John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band.

Pulling up the zipper on the side of her boot, Beckett looked up at her husband as Castle turned the NTSB hard hat in his hands. "I wonder if I should have taken that," she said to him jokingly.

"Why not, it's pretty awesome," he replied. "Even though it doesn't fit on my head we're taking this home."  
"When were you trying that on?" Beckett asked in a slight laugh.

"While you were finishing up in there," Castle replied, nodding to the bathroom. He set it down on the dresser and then went to her as she was straightening her ponytail in the mirror on the wall next to the closet.

Watching his reflection, Beckett smiled as he leaned over to kiss the junction of her neck and shoulder. "You're remembering last night," she told him.

"And you expect me to just forget?" Castle replied simply. "I don't think it's possible."

Sighing as he wrapped his arms around her from behind, Beckett leaned back against him and murmured, "This isn't going to stop," stating that.

"I don't see that happening," Castle replied as they both were looking at their reflections by then. "We're good together my love."

"Mmm-hmm," Beckett replied, smiling at that before he kissed the side of her head. When he let go of her she turned and placed her hands on his chest before they kissed. It was gentle and careful but they lingered a little longer there until finally parting. "Let's go, we did say we'd have breakfast with them," she told him, though she was also telling herself that they needed to go.

Letting go of each other they walked hand in hand up to the house to find that Mary and Skye were alone in the kitchen, kissing gently before they nearly jumped away from one another.

"Sorry I thought we should have done that… elsewhere," Skye said to them, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear and looking everywhere but at them.

"It's alright, if you'd gone to the guesthouse just now our roles would be reversed," Castle commented.

"Do you need any help?" Beckett then asked as she wanted to distract the two women as she could tell they were discomfited.

"Oh no we're all set," Mary replied, turning to them finally. "Some omelets, I remembered what you made for yourselves last year luckily so here you are. Marie, Kathleen!"

Shortly after that two sets of footsteps could be heard as the twins were coming down the stairs. They called a good morning to Castle and Beckett before they went to their mothers in the kitchen.

Smiling at the déjà vu in that moment as the girls were talking eagerly to Mary and Skye, Beckett sat down with Castle at the table with coffee and food before they were joined by the others. "You're a pretty good cook," she said to Mary.

"I learned from my parents," the woman replied with a smile. "They were both chefs."

"They used to make empanadas and sandwiches in a stall on the beach in Venice," Skye said. "Back in the seventies to eighties."

"Did you ever meet them?" Beckett asked, glancing at the twins who were busy eating then.

"I didn't have the chance," Skye replied. "But I used to go to that stall and they were great cooks."

"They must have been if they taught you to make omelets," Castle replied.

"Girls," Skye then said to the twins. "Easy on your food you might choke."

It was at that point that Beckett looked closer at the investigator and saw that she was dressed in a blouse with her NTSB pin at the collar and trousers along with her Windsor boots that she'd seen before she'd sat down. She then glanced at the twins and wondered if they knew Figueroa well but turned her attention back to the others as the twins were asking if they could go to the In-N-Out by LAX that night.

"I don't think so you two," Mary was saying in response. "I'll cook something for dinner… perhaps just a salad. We've had enough food out this week already."

Sighing with her sister Marie then asked Castle and Beckett, "Are you going to eat with us?"

"It's up to you," Skye said. "You're under no obligation to join us."

"Is it alright if we wait and see what happens today first?" Castle asked.

"That's fine I don't put dressing on the salad, that way I can take some for leftovers. Oh, the flight tomorrow…" Mary said.

"You could still eat it then Mommy, when you come home," Kathleen said.

"Us too," Marie reminded her.

"Oh," Kathleen replied before looking at Skye and Mary.

"We're going to In-N-Out when we get back," Mary replied. She shook her head when the two clapped their hands together a few times in their excitement and then said, "But we'll have the leftover salad… with something else if we need to for dinner tomorrow."

"That's good," Marie and Kathleen said at the same time.

"What time does the flight leave?" Beckett asked.

"We need to be heading to the airport at eight, we fly at nine-thirty," Skye replied. "And we'll get back at… eleven, so an early lunch and we'll be having something on the go for breakfast."

"No drinks on the plane?" Castle asked.

"Water," Mary said. "It's not stocked with drinks or food yet besides that. And that's not a lot of time left to refuel at San Francisco love."

"It isn't," Skye said as they began to stand to take their plates to the sink. "Because the FAA decided to allow it as a fly-over."

"Pictures?" Mary asked.

"Mmm-hmm," Skye said with a nod. She then told Castle and Beckett, "They're going to take pictures of us above the Golden Gate Bridge, that sort of thing. And since San Francisco's such a busy airport we'll be flying over the city to leave a gate open for another flight."

"You know how to do a maneuver like that," Castle said.

"Oh of course," Skye said with a smile, knowing it wasn't a question. "Go wash your hands and mouths you two, we need to go," she then directed to the twins.

When they'd left, Beckett asked the question she'd been thinking of for a while saying, "Do they know Figueroa?"

"They do, he wasn't as close to us as Doug is, he and Samantha were uncomfortable around children for some reason," Skye explained. "So they see Doug more as an uncle and Brent was Mr. Brent. And I know what you're going to ask next; we told them what happened the night I came home and they were sad. But it would have been worse if it had been Doug. That doesn't make it sound too bad does it?"

"No I get it," Beckett said, Castle nodding next to her. "They didn't really have the relationship that you did with him."  
"They cried still when we told them but I think it's more for their mother's sake than their own," Mary then added.

"Okay so you two are ready," Skye said then as the twins coming over to them with their backpacks. "We'll be heading out," she said as she grabbed her NTSB jacket that had been on the kitchen counter.

Walking out to the garage, Castle said, "Thanks so much for letting us use your car."

"Our pleasure," Skye said. "You remember how I told you to go?"

"I do, we'll see you later," Castle said.

"We'll likely join you for dinner," Beckett commented, waving to the twins as they were getting into the other car that belonged to Skye's father. She climbed into the car after Mary had pulled out and said to her husband, "You do remember right?"

"Why does everyone assume as a guy I won't remember?" Castle said, pretending to be frustrated with that. He wasn't surprised when she smiled next to him and sighed in mock frustration before he pulled out of the driveway. "But remember we're not going there yet, not until ten."

"I know I wonder where exactly you're taking me Mr. Castle," Beckett teased him.

Castle merely smiled and made his way over to PCH which he drove north on to Malibu. He wasn't sure where he was going to stop once he got past the restaurant they'd eaten at two nights before but finally he spotted what looked like a deserted beach past it which was what he'd been looking for. "Here we are," he told his wife.

"Where's here?" Beckett asked, looking at him as he reached behind her seat to feel around for something.

Handing her a coffee cup, Castle told her, "According to Skye and Mary it's called Las Tunas County Beach."

"Interesting but there's not really much of a beach Rick," Beckett told him as she could see from there that there were rocks instead of sand being washed over by the waves.

"See the divider wall?" Castle pointed out to her. "There is some sand there we can walk along, sit there and watch the waves."

"You're just planning this as you go aren't you?" Beckett asked him in amusement.

"I am but still it should be fun," Castle assured her as he got his own cup of coffee and then got out with her. They walked to the divider wall where a lifeguard station was and then climbed over but sat down as they realized that the waves were too high to walk around without getting wet in some way.

"This is nice," Beckett said with a smile after they'd been sitting there for a while and were nearly finished their drinks. "And the coffee is too."

"Are you going to take pictures?" Castle asked her.

"When we're on the way back to the car," Beckett told him. "I'm afraid of the lens getting wet." At his nod she looked ahead with him and then leaned over against him as she slid close to be able to do so. After some time they watched a particularly powerful wave slam against the rocks, sending spray up above them.

"Wow, I think this would be a good time to go before we end up getting wet," Castle said, looking at his wife. Seeing that she was nodding he grabbed her hand before they went back over the wall.

Before she could remind her husband about taking pictures he was stopping and Beckett hurriedly got her camera from her pocket before she took a few photographs. Her last one she took of the homes right on the water and said, "I would be afraid of waves like that one we just saw living there."

"I was thinking that too," Castle said in response. "Ready?"

"What time is it?" Beckett said, looking at her watch. She was surprised to see there was a half hour left until the museum opened and said, "They were running late."

"It's not that far away," Castle explained as they were heading to the car. "So going by car they got to the school… in a minute." He then opened the passenger door for her and said, "They told me how to get there from here."

"I had a feeling," Beckett said before he closed the door and she watched him walk around. As they were back on PCH she said, "Well despite not walking around I enjoyed that."

"You probably got some nice pictures too," Castle said. He could sense his wife's glance though he had to concentrate on the traffic ahead of them and he reached over without looking to squeeze her hand.

Gently squeezing back Beckett let him go and watched the view as they drove past the pier until they were heading north on the 405.

When they'd reached the Getty Drive exit he drove back south until he was turning to the right and going back underneath the freeway. "What do you think?" he asked as they waited in line for parking.

"I like that it's on a hill," Beckett said as he was driving through the parking garage once he'd paid.

"Yeah you don't see that every day," Castle said. Once he'd found a spot and was outside with her, walking to the elevator they were near, he said, "If you're going to ask, I didn't go on the trolley, we parked up the hill by it."

"I wasn't but thank you for answering," Beckett said. They'd gotten to the cars and reading a sign that said what level the trolley was on she told him, "We're only a floor down."

"I'll follow you," Castle said as they went over to the staircase.

When they had stepped outside Beckett was surprised to see some sculptures beyond the station where people were already getting in line for the trolley. She looked back to the artwork as her husband took her hand to pull her into line and she said, "We're coming back this way right?"

"We are," Castle assured her with a smile as she had the strap of her camera wrapped around her wrist and was holding onto it already with her hand. "And I'll wait as long as it takes for you to get some shots of those."

Beckett leaned over and kissed his cheek before she noticed a group of people ahead of them looking back at them. "I was surprised this didn't happen before," she murmured to him when she put her hand on his arm as one of the women came back to them.

"Excuse me, I'm sorry," she was saying to them. "My friends and I were just wondering, you're Kate Beckett and Richard Castle aren't you?"

"We are," Castle said, speaking first.

"Oh, we're big fans of your books," the woman said. 'Would would sign this for us?"

Taking the paper in slight surprise as the woman handed it to her first, Beckett asked, "Do you want us to sign it to someone or just our names?"

"Just your names are fine," the woman replied. As soon as they'd both done thanked them both sincerely and then went back to her friends.

"That wasn't too bad," Castle said.

"You say that almost every time Rick," Beckett said, shaking her head before they walked after the people ahead of them as the trolley had arrived. When they were inside holding on to a pole near the closing doors she told him, "This reminds me of the D train." She smiled at her husband when she heard Castle chortle at that; since one of their cases involved them chasing a suspect through a crowded D train car and them having to shove their way through the people. The trolley then started to move so she had to hold onto the pole as it gently jerked. She tried to look past the people around them to see the view as they ascended up the hill.

"Pretty," Castle said.

"Imagine living towards the top," Beckett said, trying not to shiver as he'd been whispering into her ear.

"You're afraid there might be a landslide," Castle said.

"Might? There would be at some point, remember I took that natural disasters class in college," Beckett replied, looking at him.

Castle shook his head as they were arriving at the station by then and he held onto her hand once the doors opened on the other side so he wouldn't lose her in the crowd of people. As soon as they were away from the trolley he wasn't surprised to feel her let go of him to start taking pictures of the stairs up to the entrance and he couldn't help saying, "You know this museum is free right?"

"I knew," Beckett replied, turning to him and taking his hand again. "A surprise since the collection's supposed to be amazing."

"I've heard the same," Castle said with a nod. They started up the steps and inside the entrance hall he had to let go of his wife again. While he was watching her take pictures he told her, "I think when we get to the art I'll have to not hold onto you."

Beckett was going to comment on that before she turned to him and asked, "Can you grab a couple of maps?"

"A coup- oh sure," Castle said before realizing what she meant by more than one. He went to grab two and went back to her, handing her one of them as she held her hand out to him for it.

"Okay," Beckett said after looking it over long enough. "We'll go in order of eras and then go down to the photography section last."

"What do you want me to do with these?" Castle asked in surprise when she handed him the map and he was holding both.

'Tuck them in your pocket," Beckett said before she was dragging him out to the courtyard. "Oh," she said, pleasantly surprised by the fountains and the architecture of the buildings that surrounded it.

"I had a feeling you'd like this place," Castle said, smiling as he watched her raising her camera to her eye to take a few shots. Since he had to let go of her, he instead followed her as she started to go over to the long fountain to their right. "Love, the building…" he started to tell her, pointing behind him.

"I know just let me get this shot," Beckett replied, taking it from the end of the fountain. "Okay now we can go," she said as she went back to him and reached into his pocket.

"What?" Castle said as he watched her looking over the pages until she stopped, having to lead her over to the building.

"Just checking to make sure I can take photos," Beckett said. "Sorry, it's not I didn't believe them I just didn't want to see a gorgeous painting I knew Julia and Eliza would love and not be able to take a picture of it since they changed their policy."

"I think people would protest that," Castle said as he opened the door for her. Squeezing her hand he followed her to the first room which had sculptures in it, following her there too, as she would pause every so often to set up a shot with her camera. He smiled as she would then spend some time looking over the work of art before she suddenly turned to him. "What?" he asked in a low voice.

"You wanted to come here," Beckett told him, turning so she was fully facing him. "Or did you change your mind about seeing the art?"

Looking at the sculpture in front of them of a horse Castle pursed his lips and pretended to think for a moment before telling her, "No, I did want to see everything we could. But I'm enjoying watching you too love."

Shaking her head and smiling Beckett led the way through the rest of the rooms and that time her husband would look around at the art they were passing. They headed upstairs and looked around the paintings that dated from before 1700. There were a large number of religious paintings and she said, "I don't think she would have liked any of the art you took her to see."

"Good point," Castle said, knowing who she meant. Since by the time she said that they were at the end of the building he was about to walk toward the next one when his wife was grabbing his hand.

"I want to get more shots outside of the buildings, the girls will love them," Beckett told him. "And I think I could see a shot just now of something."

"Go ahead," Castle said before he let her take him back to the stairs. Outside they were walking up to where the North Pavilion building came to an angle with another and he could see what his wife was talking about as she took a picture of that point. "That'll be a great one," he told her. "Look at this though," he said, leading her then past that building and down towards the East Pavilion where they would be going into next.

Seeing the fountain with rocks in it tucked away almost from the courtyard by the building they'd passed, Beckett took a few shots from different angles before taking a picture of her husband.

"That last one?" Castle asked her jokingly.

"Just to see what'll come out of that," Beckett said, responding in the same tone. She smiled when he placed his hand on the small of her back when she stood next to him and shared a quick kiss with him before they slowly parted. "I'm becoming more and more interested in the garden," she commented as they watched the water coming up from the rocks. "Considering everything we've seen so far."  
"It's just the start love," Castle said. "A couple more pavilions to go through." When he saw her nod he then reached over to her and took her hand, leading her to the door to the East Pavilion. Inside the much quieter atmosphere he reluctantly moved his hand and let her lead the way to the first room. He had to smile when she seemed to narrow in on some sculptures and wasn't surprised that they were horses. "We'll see paintings too," he murmured to her.

"Of course it's why I've loved art from this era, horses were prized enough to make artwork," Beckett replied in the same tone. She smiled at him before they walked on and she took more shots before they came to the stairs and headed up to the paintings. She took a few pictures but mostly looked them over until she felt her husband tapping her arm. Looking over with him she smiled at the painting of a Piebald and she immediately took a photograph of that. Leaning close to it she thought of something and when she'd stepped back enough she said, "I'm thinking of Alexander right now."

"I expected that," Castle replied. "We'll ride him back home."

"I know but summer will be a long time for him to go without exercise. Julius, too," Beckett pointed out.

"We'll ride after, during the fall a lot more," Castle said before he stopped at a painting with horses and riders next to some water. "Especially since polo will start up again for us."

"I know," Beckett said, knowing he meant their co-ed league and not the team he was on with David. "We'll really have to practice with them again."

"We're not going to be that rusty at it," Castle replied as they continued on. "You-" he started to say before they came to a large painting. "Eliza," he then said at the same time as his wife. He watched her take the picture and said, "She'll enjoy that one."

"A lot," Beckett said with a smile as she looked at the screen of her camera to make sure the shot was good of the painting of the animals gathering two by two. She went with him to the next room and the next until they were passing through a smaller chamber to get to the one past it. When her husband made her stop she looked at him and saw that he was pointing up.

"I like that, think we could-" Castle began to say as on the ceiling was a painting of people looking over a railing.

"No that would be disturbing," Beckett interrupted him as she knew he was suggesting they paint themselves and their family in the scene.

"I think it'd be…" Castle began before trailing off. "Oh fine, you've made your point," he told her in mock defeat. He was surprised when he felt her hand slip into his arm and watched her hold onto the top of it. "What if you want to take more pictures? Wait," he then said quickly. "What if you do?"

"I've managed before," Beckett said, stopping him from starting to take a step into the next room. She made him lean down by pulling on his arm before they shared a kissed hurriedly and then continued on.

When they'd worked their way through the second floor Castle took her downstairs and outside to a small seating area in between the East and South Pavilions. "I saw this when we were walking between rooms," he told her.

Going over to the railing Beckett put her arms on top of it and looked at the view of LA before them. "It's impressive," she said. "How there's not a single building to cover your view of the hills."

"You've seen the mountains right?" Castle asked, gesturing north east. "Not right now but they're there. The San Gabriels, those are impressive too."

"You've been there?" Beckett asked him with a slight smile on her face as she was starting to take pictures of their view.

"I did, to… Big Bear, yeah that was it," Castle said, trying to remember where he'd been skiing. "I was here during the winter and that was recommended. Great skiing and likely snowboarding too."

"Come on," Beckett said, taking his hand. "It's getting hotter already."

"We can take a dip in the pool when we get back to their house," Castle said, sliding his fingers through his wife's. When she glanced back at him he said, "Oh don't give me that you were thinking the same."

Becket merely let a smile spread across her face in response to that and wasn't surprised to see her husband's jaw clench tightly before they were reached the door to the East Pavilion. Once inside she led the way through rooms made up to look at they did during the 1700s before they walked through a longer room that had paintings and other decorative objects.

"Kate," Castle said as she was taking a picture of a painting that was a still life of food. "Look."

Walking to him Beckett smiled at the sight of the seashells inside the dresser that had chicken wire over the opening. "They would be standing here for a while," she commented as she took a picture. "Trying to see every last one."

"So would I, I'd be holding Eliza so she could see," Castle said.

"Most likely," Beckett said in amusement before she squeezed his arm. Walking out of the room they came to a staircase which they took up, walking together through the paintings. After a time she was a little slower than her husband taking pictures and then looking at the painting so she was surprised to come upon him in another room, standing in front of one. "Rick?" she asked as he was studying it closely.

"Hey I thought you might like this one," Castle said. When she turned her head to it he quickly added, "Not because of that."

Shooting him a smirk, Beckett looked back at the painting and reading the title she said, "Interesting."

"What?" Castle asked, glancing to her quickly before back at the artwork.

"Venus is a brunette," Beckett said simply as the goddess was sleeping nude with Mars behind her gazing at her. "How many paintings of Venus and Mars have we seen? And how many have had her blonde?"

Nodding Castle said, "Probably why this caught my eye. But mainly the blue and green in it."

"Those are nice too," Beckett said, taking a picture before they walked to the next one.

"You think we'll have to explain to them what's going on in that one?" Castle asked.

"Not really," Beckett said. "What do you want to tell them?"

"Nothing we don't have to," Castle said quickly. "I just thought Julia might wonder why they're sleeping in bed naked."

"No," Beckett said, shaking her head. "She's not going to ask because she's not going to care."

"I'm just afraid-" Castle started to say. He was cut off when his wife placed her hand on his arm and he allowed that since she was already aware of him not wanting their daughters to grow up that quickly. "I guess I should remember the fact Alexis didn't," he then said.

"You should," Beckett said. "Now can we get back to the art?"

"Of course," Castle said before they went into another room. "I'm suddenly hungry for grapes," he commented. "Those are really lifelike."

Taking a picture of the painting which was of a vase or urn filled with the fruit, Beckett said, "Not apples too?"

"Those too now," Castle said, nodding his head quickly as he saw them surrounding the vase. He waited for her to finish before they started to go to a walkway between that building and the West Pavilion. "Wait," he said quickly, stopping her at windows looking out onto the courtyard.

Looking at him for a moment Beckett then turned her head towards the view outside and quickly saw why he had wanted her to look. She took a quick shot before she grabbed his hand to pull him to the next building and asked "This is where the photographs are right?"

"It is but down on the bottom floor," Castle replied as he was looking at one of the maps while she was glancing inside the room they'd approached. "Do you want to go straight down and work our way up?" he asked. He wasn't surprised when she took the map and studied it herself before handing it back to him.

"We'll work our way down and then stop for lunch," Beckett told him. She smiled when he looked at his watch and nodded saying, "We've been walking that long."

"No wonder those grapes made me hungry," Castle said, gesturing back to the other building they'd come from. He saw that Beckett was then looking at a small painting and he looked at the plaque next to it identifying it as a painting by Goya. "You like his works right?" he asked as he saw a small frown on her face.

"I do but I can't condone bullfighting," Beckett told him, turning away from it.

"Neither does your dad, I know," Castle said as she walked away from it. He was about to ask her why she wasn't taking a picture when he studied it himself and saw the reason why. On the top of the painting, in the distance, looked like a horse dead on the ground. Shaking his head he followed Beckett to the next paining and froze abruptly at his first seeing it. "So," he said, looking at her. "Want me to try that."

"You're really that brave to handle a horse naked?" Beckett asked him with one eyebrow raised as she turned to him. "And judging by the muscles in his body that is not an easy horse to control. Would you trust it not to trample you?" she said as she looked down at his groin.

"Okay when you put it like that…" Castle said before trailing off as she walked away from him to the next painting. At the one after that they both paused and read the description before he shook his head, getting ready to move Beckett to the next painting since it was called The Ransom and the subject was of a father trying to pay for the release of his two daughters. But when she shook him off he said, "Kate, you-"

"You read what it said, it doesn't work, but look at the colors the dog looks real and the fabrics too," Beckett told him.

Castle hesitated for a moment, checking to make sure that she was okay with the painting, before he did what she'd suggested and he saw quickly that she was right. "The blue and white really take your attention first thing," he said.

"And the reds too," Beckett said with a nod. She took a picture and then said, "You were worried I might put Julia and Eliza in their place?"

"Just get some bad memories," Castle said simply. "A knee-jerk reaction," he told her.

"Come on," Beckett said. As they stood in front of the next painting she gently kissed his cheek and wrapped her arm through his before they kept going through the room until they stopped at one of the larger paintings. "Pretty," she said, letting him go to try and get a picture of it though it took a moment for her to get it all in frame.

"I like the background," Castle said. "Looks like it could easily go tropical. Or troppo, either way."

Rolling her eyes though she was smiling at that, Beckett led him to the last painting and said before she looked at the name and artist, "Goya again."

"Wow, you are good love," Castle said, though he'd been able to guess too by the face of the figure. He read the information about the Marquesa painted in it and said, "The debauchery might explain her cheeks."

"Yeah," Beckett said slowly. She then said, "You think if she kept to one man she'd have lived longer?"

"And kept it easy with concerns to the liquor," Castle said with a nod. He looked over at his wife when she grabbed his arm and then glanced around them, making him do the same instinctively.

" _That's not what I meant_ ," Beckett said in a low tone of voice though at that point they were alone on that side of the room. When her husband started to look confused and then his eyes widened in an expression of surprise, she tried not to laugh too loudly and instead started to turn away before he stopped her.

" _I think you look a lot better, so you might have a point_ ," Castle told her, looking into her eyes. When she suddenly turned away, he knew it wasn't because she was discomfited with the intensity of his gaze but because a few people were nearing them. He cursed mentally but walked hand in hand across the room with her until they went through the next one. "This artist I've always liked," he said as the first painting was of a young woman trying to fight off Cupid.

"Bougurereau?" Beckett asked as she read the plaque. "I can see why, he's pretty good at his landscapes."

"His figures are good too but the colors," Castle said, ending quickly when Beckett looked at him.

"That's true, it's blue and green together again," Beckett, looking at the fabric covering the legs of the girl. She took her husband's hand; having taken a picture by then; and walked with him until they came to a painting that was long and of a woman lying down with another brushing something against the woman's face. "Yeah, I really don't think they dressed like this that often in Roman times," she commented after reading the information on the plaque.

"Maybe if they were lovers," Castle said musingly. He laughed as quietly as he could when Beckett pushed him and he took her hand again as they continued around the room. He stayed with her as they went to the next room, that time moving into the Impressionists and stopping front of one of blue Irises. "This would be Julia's favorite," he said as they were both looking at the colors in the painting.

"It would be," Beckett said with a smile. She then turned to him and said, "We should take her-"

"A postcard?" Castle asked. When his wife nodded he said, "They should have it, it's a Van Gough."

Beckett nodded and stepped slightly closer, watching the blues and greens mixing together before she went back to her husband. "Can you imagine having talent like that?" she told him as they moved on.

"Have you?" Castle asked her. When he saw her slight smile he asked, "You have; what would you draw if you could do that?"

"The girls," Beckett said. "And you; though you realize my photography is my response to not being able to draw."

"I figured that out," Castle said with a smile, nodding his head. "Well, I would do the same. But I'd probably-"

" _You didn't think I realize that first thing_?" Beckett interrupted, turning from a painting she was photographing. " _Although these days that feels too_ Titanic."

" _And you think I'd draw you as a nude in that same position_?" Castle shot back quickly. He pretended to shudder and said, "There are better positions for that. And here is where I say my photography is my response to not being able to draw."

Beckett smiled and then said as they were leaving the room to head down to the next floor, "I wish I'd brought it with us."

"Me too," Castle replied. "Oh well we'll have something to look forward to when we get home; when we're alone I mean," he was quick to add. "I'm not forgetting the girls."

Going into the first room, Beckett stopped for a moment and looked in slight surprise at the eight foot tall vase in the middle. "Where's the plaque?" she said, looking at her husband and seeing his surprise on his face.

"Here, it's a monument that would explain it," Castle said before looking up at the top of it. "You would need some huge flowers for that… or a tree."

"That too," Beckett said, taking a picture before she led the way around the room. Inside the next one they came to some three sculptures grouped together.

"Goddesses of course," Castle said, looking them over. "I wish they would have sculpted the Hindu deities."

"I don't think they took much inspiration from them," Beckett replied. "I don't know if there was ever a big interest in the culture like there was in Egyptian history and those deities."

"You're likely right," Castle said with a nod. When they had finished with that floor he said, "Ready for the photos?"

"I am," Beckett said. She saw his questioning look while she was putting away her camera and said, "You can't take pictures in that section remember."

"Right… too bad," Castle said before he took her hand and went outside so they could go down to the lower level. But seeing they were near the courtyard fountain he paused and said, "Want to take a picture here now?"

Beckett smiled and nodded to him so he would take his phone out of his pocket, letting him lead her over there. Standing with Castle in front of it she smiled when he aimed the camera, leaning her head against his. When he had taken the shot she let go of him to let him send the picture to her father's phone. Checking her phone she said, "They'll be getting ready to go to the class."

"Just about," Castle said. "So Eliza will see that first."

"She will," Beckett said with a slight smile. "Come on," she told her husband, taking his hand. "If he texts let me know."

Castle agreed and they headed down finally to the photography section where he took his wife's arm and tucked it into his. She held onto the top of it as they walked past the photos on display, speaking to each other about the ones that stood out to them. They went through the rooms until they went back to where they'd entered the building. "So, there are two places to eat," he said as he led her to the landing of a terrace with sculptures on it. "Right over there and then back up and towards where we came in." He looked to his wife then and saw that she was looking at the view and said, "So down here it is."

Smiling Beckett said, "You could tell?" as he led her down the stairs to the café.

"I was hoping you'd pick it," Castle replied. "I peered over at the view as we were going into the building."

Going into the café Beckett let him lead the way to the end of the line before she said, "Why don't I get a table for us."

"Sure but what do you want?" Castle asked. When she merely kissed him on the lips he watched her go back outside and he took a deep breath before he felt his phone shake as he received a text that took his attention from his wife.

Looking around at the available tables Beckett went over to one that was close to the railing. Sitting down she looked at her phone, surprised to see that her father hadn't texted her after receiving the picture from Castle. She then went onto a game that her husband had downloaded for her and she nearly missed him approaching her with a tray in hand. "Hey," she said, looking up at him.

"I told you, that game is highly addictive," Castle told her jokingly. "Okay here's your food and since you didn't give me much of a hint as to what you wanted I did the best I could."

"This is fine," Beckett replied after looking over the food with a slight smile since she could tell that he was a little unsure of his choices. Once he was sitting she tapped the bottle of beer he'd gotten her against his and she took a drink before starting to eat her tuna sandwich. After a few bites she then said, "Did you look at the view."

"I did, before I sat," Castle said, not surprised she'd asked since she'd been so engrossed in her game that she hadn't seen him do that. "And it's really nice, you saw the ocean?"

"Of course," Beckett replied with a smile. "Did my dad text you?"

"Oh, he did," Castle said in remembrance then. "He did right after you left me so I forgot, he said… Let me let you read it," he told her, getting his phone from his pocket and opening the message for her.

" _Eliza said to tell you two to go swimming today_ ," Beckett read. She couldn't help laugh and when she'd managed to stop shook her head with a smile saying, "We have two water children Rick."

"I know so maybe we should go swimming," Castle told her. "It's getting pretty hot and walking around the-"

"Okay we'll go when we get back to the house," Beckett interrupted him in mock annoyance. She then smiled at him as he looked startled at the interruption and said, "I was hoping to anyways, it is hot."

"Great," Castle said. He took his phone back from her and then went back to his sandwich which was the same as hers. When they'd finished their food and drinks he pulled an apple from his pocket and handed it to her before pulling another out. "To make us feel more Californian," he told her as he stood.

"May would kick your ass if she heard that remark," Beckett told him with a slight smirk.

"Skye too probably," Castle replied, nodding in agreement. He was pleased when she laughed softly and took his hand before they went over to the ramp down to the garden. Watching it soon appearing in front of them he whistled and said, "This is amazing, there's the maze."

Looking at said maze in vibrant green shrubs in the middle of a pond Beckett tugged her husband's hand until they were going down to the path that went through the flowers in front of the pond. She started taking pictures of the blooms they were coming up to and said to him, "You can go ahead of me if you want, I'll probably take a while to look through all of this."

"You don't think I would too?" Castle replied.

"Take some pictures yourself," Beckett then told him.

"To send the girls?" Castle asked. At her nod he grabbed his phone and said, "We'll have to wait until they're done with the class and are back home."

"That's alright, just watch how many pictures you take," Beckett told him as she paused to take a picture of a small, purple flowering plant. She looked back when she heard his text message alert and asked with a smile, "Alexis?"

"She's home now," Castle said, reading the text. "She's not sure if she should go to the class… I told her to," he then added after he'd sent a response back. "Since that's the last one until next school year… So Julia will be in fifth grade."

"She will," Beckett said. "And for Eliza another year of preschool."

"Yep," Castle said absently.

"What?" Beckett asked as he was taking a picture of the purple flowers then.

"No, just thinking about Alexis, how she might be going to school in another country," Castle said. "The one positive that I'm holding on to," he told his wife as he watched her kneeling to take a picture of some tiny blue forget-me-nots. "Is that she knows the language."

"She could have gone to school in Italy and would have learned the language," Beckett pointed out to him. "Or French, or German. She would have been just fine Rick."

"I know," Castle said. He turned from looking at some purple flowers before he had to nearly skid to a stop as his wife was in front of him. "What? You're done."

Giving him a look, Beckett then said, "There's something else on your mind."

Opening his mouth to deny that, Castle finally said, "I'm still… bothered by the idea she might meet a guy that's not right for her and I won't be-"

With a sigh Beckett covered his mouth with her hand and said gently, "I know Rick but she's an adult now and she makes the decisions for herself. But you have to remember she's been limited in her boyfriends since she broke up with Max."

"She's thinking of the girls," Castle said with a slight smile as he thought of that. "She told me she's thinking of if Julia and Eliza would be creeped out by them."

"And she asks if they like kids," Beckett said. "No," she was quick to add when her husband looked slightly concerned, "Not because she wants them right now but because if they don't like kids she knows they wouldn't be good for her."

"She's a smart girl," Castle said.

"Young woman," Beckett corrected him before they started to walk again.

"That," Castle said simply. He followed her through the rest of the garden until they went back up to the top to look at the flowering plants inside the metal bars shaped like trees. He looked on as his wife took a picture of the view from there before she took another of the water leading to the waterfall down to the maze.

"Rick," Beckett said, smiling as she squeezed her hand around his arm to get his attention. "Come on. Or did you want to go over the side?" she asked him teasingly.

Pretending to seriously consider that Castle said, "I'll pass this time. So we're heading to the gift shop?"

"One thing each," Beckett told him. "And if we get the Irises postcard for Julia what about the animals painting for Eliza?"

"Sure," Castle said as they walked back to the ramp hand in hand again. "No more pictures?" he asked.

"I think I've gotten more than enough," Beckett said with a smile as she knew he was well aware of that. "It's a good thing… I brought more memory cards," she said, pausing as she watched him wrap his arm around her waist.

"I noticed that," Castle replied. They walked through the courtyard and back to the entrance hall where they'd come through when they first arrived and he led her over to the gift shop that was to their right.

"Look for Eliza," Beckett told him.

"Sure I couldn't look for Julia?" Castle suggested as he let go of her.

"Go," Beckett said with a smile. "Since you know already what you'll get for her."

Leaning over and kissing her cheek Castle headed to the books, looking for the children's section which he easily found. One of the covers that were turned forward caught his eye and picking it up he flipped through it before going over to where Beckett was looking at some art supplies. "What do you think?" he asked as she quickly looked up at his approach.

Looking at a few pages toward the middle of the book, Beckett nodded and said, "This'll be nice, she'll learn more words in other languages."

"For Julia?" Castle asked.

"She's never had one of these before," Beckett told him. "And this would help her get a start on geometry angles."

Smiling as he knew that she was kidding with that, Castle took the box of magnetic shapes to make fractiles. "So just the postcards. Do you want anything?" he asked her as they went to the cards.

"I saw a book in the last building, at that small gift stall," Beckett told him. "But I'm thinking of getting it for the girls to look at too."

"Not a surprise," Castle said as he watched her pull out the postcard. He then helped her look through the rest of them before he found the painting with animals. He led the way back to the books but had to stand aside since he had no idea which one she was thinking of.

Picking up one tome that was longer than it was wide and handing it to her husband, Beckett told him, "Surprised?"

"Not in the slightest," Castle replied, flipping through the pictures of plants that were in the garden at the museum. He took everything and then went to pay before she grabbed his hand. "No, I'll share the book with you," he told her before she could ask. "And the fractals."

"Fractiles," Beckett corrected him. "I thought you would want to share those too." At that point her phone started to ring so she left him in line before she went to the hall that led to the shop and took her phone from her pocket. "Skye?" she asked in surprise when she'd answered.

"Yes listen, is there a chance you two are on your way back?" the woman asked.

"Nearly, we're paying for a few things at the gift shop," Beckett replied. "What's wrong?"

"No, nothing, I just need you two back here," Skye assured her.

"I don't believe you," Beckett said.

"Look I'll explain everything once you're back and it's nothing bad so you know," Skye told her.

"Alright," Beckett replied, seeing her husband approaching her. "We're on our way."

"What is it?" Castle said when he reached her and saw the slight confused expression on her face. "Was that your dad? Or Alexis?" he asked as he got his phone out of his pocket to check if either of them had called him.

"No it was Skye, she wants to see us back at the house," Beckett told him. "I have no idea why but she said it's nothing bad."

"Then we better get going back," Castle told her.

Nodding Beckett walked with him back out to the trolley which they had to wait for before they were back at Skye's car. She was tempted to try and text the investigator, to see if she would tell her that way but since she had been able to tell by the woman's tone of voice that she would wait until they were there she left her phone in her pocket.

Pulling into the garage, Castle said, "I guess she wanted to talk to you first," since they'd seen Skye standing by the gravel path to the building.

"You'll get the bag?" Beckett asked as their things from the museum were in the back.

"Go ahead," Castle told her.

Getting out Beckett was a little startled when Skye grabbed her wrist and pulled her over to the guesthouse.

"Do you remember my contact?" the investigator asked as they were walking to the door.

"Yes he got in touch with you," Beckett said figuring that out. "Alrea…dy," she then said slowly in realization as to what that meant.

Looking down at the ground, Skye forced herself to look up at her friend before she glanced away and then lead her head past her slightly.

With the look that the investigator was giving her, Beckett shook her head and watched as Skye went to Castle.

"What's going on," he said worriedly when he saw the expressions on both women's faces.

"I have contacts in the CIA, which you know about," Skye began to say.

"We talked about it, yes," Castle said, confused as well.

"Kate asked me to contact him, about something," Skye told him. When he looked at Beckett she said, "Come with me, he's waiting inside to talk to you."

"Wait, wait before I go anywhere what did you ask her to tell her contact to look into," Castle said, turning to his wife.

"Your father," Beckett said, looking straight into his eyes.

Castle was completely shocked and he looked over at Skye before he finally found himself able to say, "Do you know what he found out?"

"I'm sorry, he'll only tell the two of you," the investigator said.

"When did you ask her?" Castle then said.

"You should go inside," Skye said before Beckett could reply to that.

Studying her husband, Beckett followed him to the door of the guesthouse and slipped inside after him before closing the door behind her.

"Lock that please?" an older man said, standing at the table in the kitchen. "I'm sorry but I have to be careful." Once he had seen Beckett had done so he said, "Mr. Castle, Ms. Beckett my name is Jones and Skye has told you about me already and why I'm here."

"Did you find my father?" Castle said simply.

While he nodded Jones said, "I knew your father we were sometimes partners, depending on the assignment of course. And I didn't want to have to be the one to tell you but your father passed away a year ago; last March."

Castle wasn't too shocked at the fact he wasn't surprised at the information and he said simply, "How?"

"He caught pneumonia in Japan, either on vacation or on assignment, he didn't tell me of course what he was doing there," Jones replied. "We have to be quiet about our day to day lives. But he was a good friend when we worked together."

"Did he know I existed?" Castle asked him then.

Sighing Jones looked down at his hands that were on top of the table and nodded before telling him, "He was proud of you but there are reasons why he didn't reveal his identity to you. But before I tell you what he told me in case one day I had the chance to relate it to you, you should see this."

Looking down at the photograph that Jones slid to Castle Beckett said, startled, "I've seen this man before."

"When?" Castle said, looking at her in surprise.

"Was he at our wedding? Part of the catering company?" Beckett said to Jones.

"He was, he wanted to make sure you were the right woman for his son," the man said with a slight nod. "He thought you were and you surprised the hell out of him letting him know he was going to be a grandfather to three children."

Seeing the confusion on Castle's face, Beckett said, "Do you remember when I went back in the house during the reception because I was dizzy?"

"I… yes, an older… my father was in my house and he didn't-" Castle started to say angrily before his wife took his left hand that was clenched into a fist. He took a deep breath and leaned on the table for a moment before saying, "He hid."

"He couldn't reveal himself," Jones said.

"But he did reveal one thing," Beckett replied. "He was from Ireland wasn't he?"

Jones nodded and then said, "He was born there, somewhere in Donegal or Kerry, he kept changing that. When he was in his later teens he told me he joined the IRA. And shortly after he and another member were in Londonderry they were going to plant a bomb on the car of a British supporter, set it off but just as a warning, no one was supposed to be hurt."

"He made bombs?" Castle asked, getting a sickening sensation in his stomach.

"No that was his partner, he was in charge of getting the bomb to where it needed to be," Jones replied. "But at one point his partner went rogue on him, planted the bomb that he'd made far more powerful against a basement window of the house of this man."

"They killed him," Beckett said, grabbing her husband's arm a little tighter when she felt him go rigid next to her.

"The entire family," Jones said. "It was always there that your father would become angry and he told me he'd never forgiven himself in all the years since that happened. So he left the IRA after escaping back into Ireland and came to the US before the CIA got in touch with him. From what he told me he met your mother at a party in New York, and-"

"Wait you said he had an Irish accent," Castle said, looking at his wife. At her nod he then turned back to Jones and said, "My mother never mentioned once-"

"He was trained to cover that up with an American one," Jones interrupted. "I've been versed in a number of accents as well. But he was shipped out the morning after he met your mother here to California and when he decided to look her up three years later the next time he was in the city, you were over two years old."

"He saw us?" Castle asked.

"He did," Jones said with a nod. "But he was still undercover; it didn't matter his assignment; he had to keep his identity secret."

"Never mind he lost whoever he was in Ireland once he joined the CIA," Castle said.

"We're shadows Mr. Castle, we don't have families," Jones replied simply.

"Unless you leave," Beckett said, looking at Castle as she spoke.

"How hard is it to do that? Leave?" he asked the man.

"Not difficult," Jones said. "He asked me to tell you that he grew up with an abusive, alcoholic father. It didn't excuse him he knew but he didn't want to end up the same for you, his son, if he went to you and your mother." He then leaned down and picked up a box, setting it on the table before reaching in and taking out a file. "He wanted me to make sure that you saw this," he said to Castle.

"What was his name?" he asked then, not opening the file yet.

"I don't know what his birth name was, we didn't share that with each other," Jones replied. "But I called him Mac."

Castle set the file down on the table and opening it saw there were pictures of himself from elementary school and all the way up to college and his photo for his later books. "Did he ever get me into the CIA back on the east coast?" he asked.

"He did, he didn't really approve of the woman who was your former girlfriend but he had no idea she was a traitor," Jones replied. "But he was proud of you, for your writing. And then working with the NYPD with your wife as well."

At that point Castle uncovered pictures of Alexis from when she was a baby and going through them all he saw they were in chronological order. He swallowed a little roughly as he discovered next were pictures of Julia, usually with him and Beckett until there was one of him and Beckett on the beach during their wedding. "So he knew about his grandchildren," he said as last he got to pictures of Eliza and pictures of him and Beckett with their daughters.

"He did, he loved all three of them," Jones said very carefully, watching Castle. "These are his things he wanted you to have. It's not a gift; he just knew you would want an answer. He told me you could do what you wanted with all this."

"Did he love her?" Castle said, looking the man square in the eyes.

"Rick-" Beckett started to say.

"No Kate, I have to know," Castle said immediately.

"He didn't know," Jones replied. "And he couldn't let himself get close to anyone, not with his father and what haunted him in Ireland dragging at him; let alone his work. But he told me if he'd had the chance he would have done what he could for you."

Beckett placed her hand on the back of Castle's shoulder and said, "Anything else we should know?"

"Where is he now?" Castle asked before the man could reply. "And am I his only child?"

"You are his only child; he told me he was careful in that. And he had another agent take his ashes to Ireland, where exactly I don't know, an old friend in the IRA took them," Jones said. "I spoke with the agent and he said he went to the post office to drop them off." He then started to speak and hesitated before telling them, "This picture needs to be hidden, I would advise you to make sure no one but your family sees this."

"Yeah thank you for telling me about him," Castle said, nodding once at that. He looked down at the file he had closed as the man left and then looked at the box.

"Rick," Beckett said softly, putting a little more pressure on his back. "Do you want to be alone?"

"No, help me go through this," Castle said shortly before he went to the box.

Watching him in concern, Beckett said, "I wanted you to know, I needed see if there was a chance you could get to know him."

"Know him," Castle said with a brittle laugh. "I can't even find out his name. So he didn't want me to know much." He reached into the box and pulled out an envelope that had his name on it.

"Are you going to open that?" Beckett asked him.

"It can wait," Castle said, tossing the letter aside so hard that it barely touched the table before falling over the side of it.

Going to retrieve it Beckett watched him pull out some frames and went quickly back to him to see the first was their Fourth of July family picture two years before.

"There's something… sickening in knowing he had this," Castle said. "My mother always told me she was in love for that one night but…" He pulled out more frames and looking into the rest of the box saw that was all there was in there except for something that didn't resemble a frame in the shadows.

"A diary?" Beckett asked, seeing the thick book.

"A journal," Castle said, flipping through it. "June twenty-seventh, 1993 is his first entry, then it jumps to '94…"

"So he started on your wedding day to Meredith," Beckett told him.

"He did," Castle replied. "Damn it, I forgot to ask him something."

Going over to the door, Beckett opened it and saw that Jones was outside, speaking with Skye still. "Rick, he's here," she told her husband.

Running out of the house, Castle went to the man and said, "Did he tell you what he thought about my ex-wives?"

Glancing past him at Beckett who'd joined them Jones nodded once and said, "He was concerned you'd be a lost man in relating to that. But he guessed that you wouldn't last long in your two marriages, he guessed the first would last just barely three years and your second just past two and a half."

Beckett looked to her husband; since his father had been right about that; and was a little surprised when he didn't mention something about him being psychic. But considering what he was going through she couldn't blame him for not grasping onto something more familiar.

"But he approved of Kate," Castle said, turning to her and reaching out to her. He was a little startled when she grabbed his hand and then with her other wrapped it around his arm and he could feel her emotional support in that simple move before turning to Jones.

"He did, that was why he went to your wedding and not the previous two," Jones replied. "And he also wanted to see his new granddaughter, Julia. He loved your daughters, as I said. He was always showing off the newest pictures he had. And he was touched by your daughter's name; your youngest. It was his mother's name."

"He knew-" Beckett started to say.  
"He did," Jones interrupted her. "But still it was his mother's name and he took that as a sign that he'd be hard pressed to find a set time for your marriage to end." He then sighed before he told them, "He kept telling me after returning from your home in the Hamptons, 'Jonesy, my son is in love and this time he'll stay happy. Especially with his family he has with him for support as well as her. He's a lucky man.'"

"He didn't-" Castle started to say.

"He did," Jones replied. "It's why I wasn't sure about telling you that. Your father was good at reading people and Mac knew from his short conversation with your wife and seeing the two of you together that you would have more success in your marriage than before."

"Did he know I'd tried to find him before?" Castle asked after there was silence between them for some time. At the man's nod he sucked in a breath of air as he realized then that the PI he'd hired had been told to lie to him and he nodded once before disengaging himself from his wife.

"Thank you again," Beckett said to the man when her husband turned to walk back to the guesthouse. She hurried after him then and closed the door behind her as he went straight to the kitchen table. "Rick, please," she said, dragging the other chair next to the one he was sitting on and wrapping her arm around him. "Tell me-"

"You're right," Castle said, looking at her. "I needed to know, I think in the back of my head I knew the PI I'd hired was lying but I couldn't know for sure of course. So he didn't want to be found for any reason. I wonder…" he said, glancing to the letter. "Do you think he wrote that before he passed?"

"It's likely," Beckett said. "Do you want to read it now?" She sighed when he shook his head and said, "I should have told you what I asked Skye but I didn't want to get our hopes up."

"Our?" Castle asked his wife, turning to her then with a perplexed expression on his face.

Looking away from him for a moment to think of how she wanted to word that Beckett said, "I know how much it's hurt you though you never told me in any certain terms, not knowing your father with you becoming one three times. And I want our daughters to know; Alexis and Martha too. But I needed to know this other half of your life Rick, to know who you were in that sense. And I needed you to know like I told you before, that was always upmost in my mind. You needed closure just like I did."

Reaching over Castle cupped his wife's cheek and leaned down, pressing his forehead against hers before they gently kissed. "I love you," he told her. "And I don't think I've ever had anyone do this for me. Nothing like this anyways."

Nodding with a slight smile, Beckett told him, "It was the least I could do for you." She then watched him reach over to the journal and asked, "You're going to read that now?"

"Just one thing, if I can find it," Castle said. He flipped through the pages, but paused when his wife put her hand on his arm.

"I love you too," Beckett told him, squeezing gently. When he leaned over she shared a kiss with him before he turned back to the book and then stopped. Reading over his shoulder, she wasn't surprised to see the date _August 17th, 2014_ written at the top of the left hand page.

" _I've returned from my son's wedding, well pleased with how everything has gone for him and his wife; my daughter in law_ ," Castle read. " _I watched the ceremony as much as I could and I even spoke with her, Kate. But back to the ceremony, they're very much in love as I could hear their vows for each other… or attempted to as I missed something from Kate's vows I learned later. Was chuffed at their use of Irish when they exchanged rings and found the ceremony to be simple but fitting to them both_."

"You don't need to keep reading," Beckett told him as he trailed off.

"No, I need to," Castle said simply. He then continued with, " _I found my opportunity to speak with Kate during the reception. After the marriage license was signed of course as were the adoption papers and I am suddenly the grandfather to a sweet lass with eyes nearly the color of my ma. But with regards to speaking with my daughter in law she seemed unwell so I gave her some water and offered to fetch a doctor for her when she let me know that she was expecting. So I'm to be a grandfather for a third time. I find myself looking forward to that day though I have no clue when it is as my son and granddaughter came in then and I had to leave. But he's happy and he loves her and she loves him. I can see it when she looks at him so I'm back to California in the morning as my son and daughter in law head off to the mother country, and I'll wish them all the best in their travels_."

Watching as Castle snapped the book shut, Beckett stood with him, watching him shoving the chair he'd been sitting in back before he stormed out of the house. She closed her eyes for a moment as she had been able feel and hear his rising anger, deciding to give him a moment to calm down before she went after him to try and speak with him.

Outside the guesthouse Skye hesitated for a moment before she stepped towards the open doorway. "Kate, what-" she started to say.

"I think he's feeling abandoned in a way," Beckett replied since she'd stepped up to the doorway to leave. "Which I can't blame him for but it sounds like his father was afraid to have a family after his wasn't really that great. Castle's grandfather was an alcoholic and abusive," she explained.

"That would make sense," Skye replied, thinking that over. "Would you like a pointer before you go have a talk with him?" she asked, nodding towards the rose garden where she'd seen him go. When Beckett nodded she told him, "Don't talk about his father unless he wants to and remind him that you asked me out of love for him."

"That I already planned on," Beckett said with a brief smile. "Excuse me." She then went over to the garden, walking down the right path and getting nearly to the end of it before she found him sitting on a bench.

His head shooting up as he saw his wife approaching, Castle asked, "I didn't hit you with that chair did I?"

"No," Beckett said simply, sitting down next to him and carefully wrapping her arm around his shoulder.

"I was thinking; once I calmed down stomping through this garden," Castle said, looking up at the sky for a moment. "He was afraid wasn't he? Of turning into his father, so his job was like a crutch, a shield. He could use it as an excuse to not start a family with my mother after he found out about me." When he looked to his wife and saw her nodding he said, "I don't think he was in love with her."

"I had that thought too," Beckett replied. She wanted to continue but hesitated; apparently visibly as her husband urged her to speak. "I don't think he wanted to hurt Martha by marrying her just because they had you. But running and hiding as he did it wasn't right, not for her or you."

"No," Castle replied. He sighed and said, "I don't think he's too much of a people person."

"It doesn't sound like it," Beckett agreed. "Will you be okay?" she eventually asked after a long period of silence between them.

"Oh sure, I just need to take all of this in," Castle said. "Thank you," he then told her.

"For asking Skye?" Beckett asked, a little surprised.

"I needed closure, you're right, and I have that and now I won't have it in the back of my mind," Castle said. "So will Mother. And Alexis and the girls will have a grandfather… to a degree. I'm just glad they have your dad, that's what a grandfather should be." He felt Beckett kiss his cheek and heard her murmur to him in Irish before he replied, "I just hope he doesn't mind me seeing him as an actual father in law."

Beckett couldn't help smile at that and said, "He knows you do that and no, he doesn't mind. I told him about your father, you not knowing him before this, so he understands you see him in that sort of paternal asking for advice way."

Nodding, they fell into silence before Castle suddenly said, "Do you know what I really want to do right now?" When his wife shook her head he said, "Call the girls."

Looking at her watch Beckett smiled and then stood before letting him take her hand. "Skye's worried," she said as she saw her husband's gaze go towards the house when they left the garden.

"I'll thank her too," Castle said. Inside the house he let her call her dad as he put everything back in the box, pausing to look at the envelope before he tossed it inside and closed it. When they turned on the TV, he smiled with her to see their daughters in front making faces. "Hey you two are going to get stuck like that if you don't watch out," he said.

Glancing at her husband as he sounded nearly back to normal, Beckett gave his hand a quick squeeze before saying, "He's right now hurry, we want to hear about your day."

"But can't we hear about yours?" Julia begged. "We all saw the picture you sent."

"After," Beckett replied.

"Oh no, you heard your mom," Castle said, holding his hands up as they turned to him. "Go ahead Eliza." As their youngest began to speak he reached over and wrapped his arm around Beckett's waist, holding her against him a little more until the toddler had finished with going to the dance class. "And you Julia?" he asked.

"Just repeating stuff for the tests tomorrow," the little girl replied, shrugging. "A lot of worksheets that we can use to study."

"And are you going to?" Beckett asked.

"I've been helping her already Katie," Jim told his daughter. "We made some flashcards for her and after we hang up Alexis will quiz her."

"And me! I help too!" Eliza crowed proudly.

"Then I get the feeling you'll do well tomorrow sweetheart," Castle said to Julia who was smiling widely at him.

"Me too," the little girl said. "I'll do my best. Now you and Mommy?"

"Alexis?" Castle asked his daughter.

"No, just shipping things and checking to make sure I have what I want for the trip," the young woman said. "So you two can go ahead and get started because I told them I've been to where you have but didn't give them any details."

"She didn't even say a name," Julia said, pretending to pout before her little sister tried to poke her lips to her laugh.

"Okay," Beckett said, laughing briefly herself. "We went to the Getty, which is an art museum at the top of a hill."

"You saw pictures?" Eliza asked.

"Paintings," Julia corrected her sister.

"And pictures too," Castle said. "They have a photography section."

"It was nice," Beckett replied. "And I took a lot of pictures of the paintings, sculptures and things like vases and bowls, rooms decorated to look like they did in the past."

"It sounds like a nice museum," Jim said.

"And they have a garden too," Castle said, not surprised to see Alexis smiling just behind her sisters. "And your mom took a lot of pictures there."

"I can't wait to see!" Julia said excitedly. "What was your favorite painting?"

"Probably the same painting we think you'll like," Beckett said. "We'll show you when we come home we promise."

"I can't wait," Julia repeated with a smile. "Now what are you gonna do?"

"Have dinner with the McDouglases," Castle said. "And after that probably swim, since someone suggested to us that we should do that."

Giggling Eliza nodded her head and said, "Go now Mommy, Daddy."

"After dinner," Beckett said. "Speaking of which, you're close to dinner over there."

"It's almost done," Alexis replied.

"Then we'll say goodnight," Castle told her. "And I love you kiddo."

"I love you too Dad," Alexis said.

"Love you Daddy!" Eliza then said before anyone could speak. "And you too Mommy. Lots, lots and lots."

"I think that means she loves us a lot," Castle told his wife. He smiled when she pushed his shoulder and then turned back to the screen saying, "I love you too Eliza, very much."

"I love you sweetie, sweet dreams tonight," Beckett said. She then turned to Julia and said, "Goodnight Julia, I love you too."

"Thank you Mommy, I love you," the little girl replied. "And you too Daddy, I love you of course."  
"Of course," Castle repeated with a smile. "I love you too Julia."

After they'd said goodnight to them all and goodbye Beckett turned to her husband as soon as the TV was off and asked, "You-"

"That wasn't acting, I wouldn't be that good," Castle replied, shaking his head as he let go of her to take her hands. "I'm a little more recovered now after seeing them. And I'm thankful I have them too," he added.

"You're a great father Rick," Beckett said seriously, looking into his eyes. "You know I've thought that for a long time."

"I didn't think you'd have trusted me so much with Julia if you weren't so sure," Castle said. He then gathered her up into his arms, holding her against him as he leaned down to kiss her deeply on the lips.

Beckett was a little startled at that but kissed him back quickly, feeling that he hadn't been lying about recovering. When they parted she pressed her forehead to his and was about to speak when there was a knock on the door. "I think that's her," she told her husband.

With a quick nod, Castle let her go and went to the door, and as soon as he saw that Beckett was right and it was Skye, he hugged her briefly.

"I… hullo," the investigator said, startled at that. "So… you're okay?"

"That was to thank you, for getting in touch with your contact for Kate and I," Castle said seriously though he was amused at having shaken her a little.

"It wasn't a problem," Skye said. "Mary had me come down to get you both; we'd like to have you around for company while we make dinner if you'll join us."

"We'll follow," Beckett said.

"You're not hungry?" Castle asked his wife as she closed the door once Skye had left.

Beckett didn't respond to that at first, instead she reached up to place her hand on the back of his neck before pushing on it to close the gap between them. That kiss was a lot more passionate, and once they had managed to part she murmured, " _I love you_."

" _I love you too_ ," Castle said simply before he pressed his forehead to hers. He gave her a quick kiss on the lips and then took her hand so they could leave and head up to the house.

Entwining their fingers, Beckett studied him as they walked over the backyard seeing that he seemed to be okay. She squeezed his hand, hoping that he really was as he gently squeezed back.

* * *

Turning his head to look over at his wife, Castle tried not to sigh in frustration as she'd been asleep for at least twenty minutes. He had tried to join her but he had too much going through his mind then to be able to relax and sleep. So he finally caved in to the one thing running prevalent in his head and he raised himself up so he could lean over and press his lips against his wife's temple before he slipped out from under the bed sheet.

Opening her eyes a minute later Beckett turned and expected to see her husband asleep but there was a part of her that wasn't all that surprised to find the other side of the bed was empty. When they'd gotten into bed she had wondered if everything had wrapped up nicely for him to allow him to get any rest and she hadn't thought so. She got up and went over to the stairs, very quickly finding her husband sitting at the kitchen table. "Rick?" she asked.

Looking over, Castle asked, "Did I wake you up?"

"No," Beckett said simply. "What are you doing?" she said as she saw he was holding the still unopened envelope from his father in his hand.

"This damn thing has been calling to me," Castle said. "And I mean that literally, like a tell-tale heart…" He sighed and ran his hand over his face before putting the letter back. "I don't want to read it but I probably should."

"Do you want me to open it?" Beckett asked. When he looked at her pleadingly she leaned over, kissing the top of his head before she went to get a knife in the kitchen where she slit the envelope neatly and handed it back to him. While he pulled out the letter inside she moved around the table to bring the other chair over next to him so they were sitting together.

"Wait," Castle told her as she was picking it up. He reached out to her and took her hand when she was close enough, pulling her onto his lap. He wrapped his arms around her and finished pulling the pages out of the envelope. "It looks like it's long," he commented.

"That's alright, we went to bed early," Beckett told him.

Taking a moment to prepare himself, Castle began reading with, " _Richard, I have no idea if this will reach you but the doctors are not optimistic so I need to press forward and make sure that this is ready in the event I can't shake off this pneumonia. I don't even know if you would want to read this, considering I've never been a part of your life. But it's your decision so I'll write as if you have wanted to hear something from me. First you won't have been told my name, as Jones doesn't know what my real one is. But I can tell it to you because that name has been erased, it won't harm you to know it as long as it stays in your family. My name was, back in Ireland, Fitzpatrick McDonough. My father's name was the same and my ma was named Elizabeth, born O'Donovan._

" _Jones will tell you enough of my life before you were born, why I left Ireland and what happened once I came here to the US. But I chose to take a career with the CIA because they knew of my involvement in the bomb though were aware I had nothing to do with where it was placed. They'd heard I was good in difficult situations; my partner and I had to negotiate a few problems to reach the car; and decided I'd do far better working for them. I saw no reason not to as I wasn't sure I wouldn't be on the run my entire life going back to Europe_ ," Castle continued.

"What?" Beckett asked as he'd paused there.

"He talks about my mother," Castle replied. " _I would guess you have to know the night your mother and I met; I can't see her hiding that from you. From my side… I suppose it was a chance to feel something other than fear or focus solely on my new career. I remember that night as my chance to be normal; to a point; for only a few hours when I met her in that restaurant. But around dawn the next morning I was found and brought to California and I knew I couldn't contact your mother because I was never going to be good enough for her. I had too many ghosts in my past that I would never be able to be rid of, she had to find someone who would do for her what I knew I couldn't let myself do._

" _Coming back from an assignment three years later I was quickly brought into another that sent me to New York. I decided to try to find your mother when I had the chance and when I had I was stunned to find her carrying you_ ," Castle said. He paused and said, " _I had no idea how old you were but there was something in the look of you that reminded me of my grandda, your great-grandfather, when he was a child. So I knew you were my son and after confirming that I nearly failed in my assignment trying to figure out if I should leave what was my life and attempt to be a father to you. I made my decision and it was the worst thing I could have done for myself but the best for you and your mother. I was never meant to be a father. I hated mine with a passion and I was afraid always of turning into him, drunk and too liberal with his fists as I had his same temper when it was provoked. It will never excuse my just leaving you both but I was honestly frightened by the man I could become_."

At that point Beckett took the letter from him and when he nodded to her she read, " _I kept up on you as I had some contacts, friends to a degree at the office in the city, and I was interested in seeing you were heading towards writing. You get that from your mother but my mother was one to make up songs while working around the house. So in that you remind me of her as well. She was good at plucking ideas out of the air, she would have loved you. She passed before I left for Dublin, a form of what I have right now that she never recovered from. Luckily you'll never know your grandda and I was never so relieved to find that you didn't follow him in looks; or your children but I'm moving ahead too quickly_." She then looked over the next paragraph and said, "He starts to talk about Meredith…"

"What?" Castle asked her as she trailed off.

" _I was concerned finding out you were going to be married_ ," Beckett continued to read. " _And I looked into the woman but I didn't really find myself approving though I of course had no right to. She never seemed like she would be the right one for you. But I had never been happier to learn I'd become a grandfather and I fell in love with Alexis the second I saw her_." She paused for a moment and then hurried to continue reading, " _I went to see her in the hospital and that was when my regret at leaving for my career intensified. But I've kept up on Alexis, watching her grow into a fine young woman and I am so proud of her for wanting to become a psychiatrist, for wanting to help people._

" _There was no surprise to me when my contact told me that you were getting a divorce_ ," Beckett read in the next paragraph. " _And I'll jump forward to saying the same about your second marriage. I looked into your second wife and it was then I understood why you had gone through these marriages twice. You were searching for something and that was a family that you never had. And I nearly went to you at that, thinking that maybe I could speak to you to try and help you. But it was a fantasy of course; I still will be surprised to know you ever read this._ Do you think you would have spoken to him had he gone to you?"

"Unlikely, even when I had asked that PI, I couldn't," Castle replied after thinking that over for a moment. "I don't know what my reaction would have been."

Beckett nodded at that and she turned her attention back to the letter reading, " _I suppose I've saved the last of this for your time with the NYPD, I was on the east coast at the time and I heard from my contact that you'd been taken into a station for questioning though you were released after. I was on assignment and only heard after the fact that you'd assisted with the case and that you'd had the mayor get you a position as a consultant. I had to wonder what exactly you were thinking of when I heard that but I soon figured it out. When I did you were working on a case involving high end jewelry being stolen. I'm sure that's reminded you of the case so I'll say that I was there at the party and saw you walking arm in arm with Detective Beckett into the charity event the police were staking out_."

"He was there," Castle said, startled. He took the letter from his wife and then read, " _I had gotten onto the staff there and was walking around with trays of food, trying to see whether you were there as yourselves or on stakeout as I mentioned earlier. But hearing her refer to herself as Kate I then knew and I watched the two of you. I didn't get the idea that she could tell her interest in you but I could tell with you_ …"

"Give me that," Beckett said, taking the letter. " _I could tell with you that you were more than a little. So I had my contact look after you both and he kept me up to date on your work. Hearing that he thought you two were together after I'd returned from assignment was startling news to me as I'd given up on you both seeing what you felt for each other. And the next time I was in New York I went to see you both and I realized my contact had been correct. That was in early April of 2013 and shortly after I saw the story about your then girlfriend being kidnapped with the little girl. I was nearly about to offer my services to the FBI to help them but I was placed on another assignment and was unable to do much else than keep up to date on what was happening. When I returned to California I was told that they were both rescued and also that Beckett had adopted Julia which I was relieved to discover._

" _I found out only a month before your wedding that you and Kate were engaged_ ," she read then, glancing up at him. " _I had learned what I could about your future wife but I found myself needing to see her closer than I had before. So despite Jones trying to convince me not to, I headed to the Hamptons where I placed myself in the catering company you used so I could see your wedding. And by now it's likely you know that I spoke to your wife for a short time, finding out in the course of that conversation that she was carrying your child as I'd been unable to catch all of her vows she said to you. I was about to become a grandfather a third time- I'd managed to see you signing the adoption papers for Julia. And I was never prouder of you for that and for trying to protect your family; both you and my daughter in law. I know about Tyson, I have tried searching for him and if I could have I would have left his body for the NYPD. But he's elusive… so I commend your decision to move from the city, it was the best you could do for your children._

" _And I was overjoyed to hear about Eliza's birth_ ," Beckett continued, getting to the last page of the letter. " _More so because of her name, though I know you weren't aware of my mother's. But I went to see her in the hospital the night she was born and I had been going to the Hamptons whenever I could to see all of you. There was a kind of torture in that and though Jones told me I was likely going to regret those trips I couldn't keep myself away. I had been concerned you'd follow in my footsteps without knowing it so to see your joy in your wife and children I was proud of you and I still am._

" _Please remember the reasons why you fell in love with Kate and if that includes your work with the Hamptons PD as a part of it, I urge you to continue. You need each other I have been able to tell and I don't see that ending_ ," Beckett read, feeling her cheeks slightly heat up at her father in law's next words. " _She understands you much more than any other woman you've been with has and is what a wife is supposed to be. Your support and your partner. The fact that she's the same in your writing and your work with the police should make her even more important to you_ …"

"We agree on that," Castle said seriously, taking the letter then from her to read the rest. " _I've read all your books Richard and I find the ones I enjoyed best have been about Green and Moor. I'm proud of you, your talent and your ability to write with your wife_." He then said, "Here's the ending paragraph," though Beckett was still on his lap and could see the letter. " _I close this with no begging for forgiveness or any kind of sympathy from you. I know I don't deserve it. I ask for one thing only and even that I leave to you to decide to do; tell your family about me. I can't be a part of it but I want them to know who I was. I want my granddaughters to know their grandda was a proud Irishman always and did what he could for his adopted country as well. Whatever you tell them besides that it's up to you. I just want you to know who I was and know a little of who you were. And for you to know I wish you and Kate the best; the same for the rest of your family_." He paused and then read the last bit which was in Irish, " _Féidir a fhios_ _agat_ _rud ar bith ach_ _sonas_ _ón_ _lá seo amach_. May you know nothing but happiness from this day forward. He signed off with his name."

Nodding Beckett said, "That's part of a marriage blessing isn't it?"

"It is," Castle said. He looked at the letter for a long time and then said, "I guess you should be happy that he approves of you."

"That doesn't matter," Beckett said. "It matters a little more if you're still in love with me," she told him as she stroked the back of his head gently.

"I don't think I really need to answer that, you know I do," Castle said, looking up at her. He kissed her as soon as her lips were touching his and he put his hand around the side of her neck until they needed to breathe and slowly parted.

"Are you okay after reading that?" Beckett asked him.

"Yeah I'm fine," Castle said. He frowned and then said, "He was trying to tell me that though he was basically a coward he was keeping up with my life."

"He did love you," Beckett said. "Though he didn't say it. I don't think he would have done everything he had if he didn't see you as his son. His only child too."

Sighing Castle reached over to the journal he'd taken out of the box as well and said, "I wanted to see what he wrote when Eliza was born," as he could tell his wife was watching him. "Here, the night of," he said as he saw the date March 31st, 2015 at the top. " _My third grandchild was born today, also my third granddaughter_ ," he read. " _My son and daughter in law have named her Elizabeth Johanna and though they don't know it, they've given her her great-grandmother's name. Ma would be honored I know and she would love the baby as I do already. I was able to see her and I spoke Ma's blessing that she would tell the babies born in the neighborhood over her quickly before I left. I would have given anything to hold her but being able to see her is the best I can take. I look forward to seeing her grow, seeing who she favors. Already I know she'll take after my daughter in law, just a feeling I have though she does have her father's dark hair that he got from my grandfather. She'll be a beautiful child and I'm ready to head back to LA to tell Jones all about her_."

Watching him close the book with an audible snap Beckett said, "You're still angry."

"I thought I could hide it a lot better," Castle said as he watched her stand up. He let her take the journal and set it back into the box once the letter was tucked away and said, "But I thought about it while I was trying to sleep, it'd probably be a lot worse if he didn't bother to keep an eye on us. Just left me and my mom alone and never looked back when he first saw me. It worries me now to see how conflicted he was."

"You didn't inherit that from him love," Beckett told him.

"That's true," Castle replied. He stood when she pulled his hand and he said, "I'll have to ship this stuff back."

"You better get the envelope out before that," she told him. "So you can have that on you at least. And his picture."

"Yeah," Castle said slowly as he looked at the box. "I'll get it ready in the morning," he said in decision. "Since we're already packed to head to the beach house. But I'd like to concentrate on you."

"In what way?" Beckett asked as he was sliding his arm around her waist, smiling slightly at him.

"Not that, we have to get up early to head out to LAX. No, what I'm thinking of is just this," Castle said.

Beckett wasn't too surprised when her husband leaned down then and took her lips with his own. She wrapped her arms tightly around him in response and slid her hands up to the back of his head, feeling him pulling her closer to his chest until she finally had to break apart with a gasp. Smiling as he looked at her intently she said, "You're sure it was just that?"

"I was," Castle said as seriously as he could. "Come on," he told her as he took her hand and pulled her to the stairs. "I'm looking forward to tomorrow," he said. He looked back at her and then told her, "In case you thought I'd stopped after earlier."

"I didn't think you'd stopped, just thought you'd stop thinking about it," Beckett told him as she went to the bed. She sat up as she watched her husband climb on after her, going over her before she bent her knees and wrapped her arms around them. "You know his last name now," she began carefully as he sat on his knees next to her. "You could look for his family."

"My father was an only child so I don't know how much family I'd have now," Castle replied. He looked a little thoughtful then and said, "I kind of would like to look for my grandmother though. From the way he talked about her you could tell he loved her too."

"I would do that with you," Beckett said with a slight smile. "When we're there but Donegal and Kerry are whole counties."

"And Elizabeth McDonough might be a common name," Castle replied.

"We'll try," Beckett then said. She wasn't taken aback when he leaned over then, kissing her gently on the lips. When he pulled away she smiled and said, "I guess you're okay that we named Eliza that?"

"I really am, I get the feeling that she would have been an amazing great grandmother," Castle said. They were silent for a moment and he then said, "So my actual name is Richard McDonough."

Smiling again Beckett said, "It's very Irish but I think I prefer Castle a lot more."

"Never mind the fact you don't call me that as much anymore," he pointed out to her.

"No but that's our daughters' last name," Beckett added.

"You're right, it is," Castle said. When Beckett asked him what he was thinking then he told her, "I have a father now, that I know. I'm having the hardest time getting used to that."

"I can imagine," Beckett replied with a slight nod of her head.

"Tomorrow," Castle said to her seriously. "I want to make everything about us… I mean tomorrow night, sorry. Dinner and whatever we do after."

"Any reason why?" Beckett asked, touched by his sincerity.

"Because I love you," Castle said slowly. "Was that in doubt at all?"

Smiling Beckett shook her head and said, "I'm just wondering if you're trying to forget today."

"Not really because our time at the Getty was great, so was dinner with the McDouglases, swimming too," Castle said. "And I am grateful for what I learned."

Beckett nodded once and then said, "That was my hope when I asked Skye."

"And it worked out so that was great," Castle told her before he then pulled on her hand until she was on his lap. "But I think we've exhausted the subject."

"I was thinking the same," Beckett replied, pressing her cheek against his. "So let's focus on tomorrow since you brought that up already."

"We still don't know too much about Laguna Beach," Castle replied. "Just what Skye and Mary told us and it's hard to visualize that."

"We'll find out everything tomorrow," Beckett said. "But… do you remember how you mentioned wanting to go to the movies tomorrow night?" At his nod she then said, "What if we stay in instead, watch something on the TV they said they have in the family room?"

"That would be nice, we could go down on the beach too," Castle said. "For a walk, not to swim if you don't want to."

"A walk would be better," Beckett said. She then smiled as she leaned against him saying, "I'm looking forward to Friday night though, from what they said, that restaurant you got us reservations at is romantic too."

"So we'll make Friday night about us too," Castle said.

"I think up until the point Skye and Mary join us you'll make about us," Beckett said in amusement. She kissed her husband then tenderly before jerking back a little. "We-"

"You're right," Castle said quickly, cutting her off. "Just… this for now." And with that he leaned down, crushing his lips against hers as hard as he could. He could feel her arms tighten around him as he pressed his hands to the small of her back, feeling her against his chest. He groaned heavily when they parted and said, "I know it's hard to have just that but I can't help myself," thinking his wife would be a little unsettled.

"We have two nights to ourselves Rick," Beckett reminded him, getting off his lap. "And a lot of time too."

Shuddering imperceptibly; as he could imagine how that would go; Castle said, "I brought the book."

"You didn't think I saw that?" Beckett asked with a slight smirk on her lips. She reached over and cupped her husband's cheek, squeezing it slightly before she lay back on her pillow. "And I brought something myself."

"That I saw," Castle said quickly, lying on his stomach next to her.

"Yes because you went looking in my suitcase after for it specifically," Beckett said. She saw that her husband was about to protest and she gave him a look that made him quickly stop.

"Well, I can't help it," Castle said. "You've married a pervert Kate. One that's also in love with you so, there you go."

"Luckily I love him too," Beckett said, reaching up and cupping his face before bringing him down to her for a kiss.

After exchanging a second one, Castle laid down behind Beckett before he pulled her close to him and they murmured goodnight before they lay in silence. The quiet of the room was soon broken by their heavy breathing as they fell asleep, letting themselves slip into their dreams that both seemed to center on a beach that could have been anywhere. They were always aware of being together sleeping through the rest of the night in each other's arms as the sun rose outside their room to bring them to the next day.


	13. In The Face of The Sky

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The title of this chapter is a lyric from the song Daniel by Elton John and Bernie Taupin, from Elton John's album Don't Shoot Me I'm Only the Piano Player.

"Making a last minute check?" Beckett asked as she came up the stairs to find her husband looking through his suitcase.

"I am, making sure that I have the book," Castle told her.

"Of course you wouldn't want to have to ask Skye to look for it for you," Beckett teased him.

"I wouldn't want to imagine that conversation," Castle said. "Would you?"

"Not really," Beckett said. "Are you ready?"

"Now I am," Castle replied as he finished zipping his suitcase closed.

"What about the box?" Beckett asked him as he walked over to her.

"It's ready," Castle replied simply. He was a little startled when she stopped him and wrapped her arms around him, asking him how he was doing. "I'm okay, ready to start our vacation."

Beckett kissed his cheek and then said, "So am I." And with that they left the room to go out to where the McDouglases were at the garage. "Morning," she called to them.

"Hullo," Skye called, seeing that Castle was carrying a box while Beckett had their suitcases. "Is that it?" she asked as they'd texted her about shipping it for them earlier.

"That's it," Castle said, putting it in the trunk of the investigator's father's car. "Thank you for this," he told her seriously.

"Not a problem," Skye said as he hurried over to their car to get his suitcase into the trunk of the other car, Beckett getting hers in then. "So you'll just follow the two of us, we'll lead you to where we're supposed to park of course. And just a warning the media might take pictures of the passengers, including you."

"Nothing we haven't been through before," Castle replied, seeing that Beckett was nodding next to him. "Oh, thank you," he said as Marie came over to them with a bar to share.

"I managed to have time last night to try and get tickets for you," Skye said.

"You did?" Beckett asked, glancing at her husband as from the woman's tone it didn't sound like good news.

"I'm afraid I was right, it was too last minute to get you two onto a flight," Skye said apologetically. "People likely wanting to get home for the next day. But I can get you tickets for Sunday night if that's okay."

"Yeah, that'll be great," Castle said, hoping the disappointment in his voice wasn't audible.

"I agree," Beckett said quickly as Skye turned to her. "And thank you for trying."

"It wasn't a problem, though I'm sorry my connections couldn't help out this time," the investigator said.

" _Grá_ ," Mary said to her wife then.

Looking at her watch quickly, Skye nodded and said, "Right, we'll have to get going. Are you set?"

"We are, can we go directly from the beach house to LAX Sunday night?" Castle asked.

"Since the house here will be closed up I don't see why not," Skye told him with a smile. "We'll see you two at LAX."

Waving goodbye to them Beckett got into the passenger seat of the car and once her husband was inside with the door closed she sighed saying, "I really thought she'd be able to get us home."

"I know," Castle said before he backed out of the driveway. He almost jumped when he felt his wife's hand on his arm and he looked at her. "I'll be okay, we can have a Father's Day observed Monday," he told her.

"I'll make it up for you Sunday," Beckett said. "Wherever you want to go for breakfast… what's with that look love?"

Laughing briefly, Castle said, "I don't know if you want to call me love after I tell you this. Since we're going to be… relatively alone, why don't I just have breakfast on you."

"And I knew that was going to come out of your mouth," Beckett said, rolling her eyes. "I shouldn't have done that for you."

"Oh come on," Castle protested. "What do you think I'm going to ask for, bacon and eggs, too greasy and a little disgusting thinking of that being left on your skin. Fruit salad Kate, like we did last time." Since he was trying to keep behind Skye in the car ahead, he wasn't looking at his wife but when he was able to glance over at her at a red light he wasn't surprised to see that her cheeks were slightly flushed. "You're remembering now aren't you?" he teased her.

"Yes," Beckett said in a groan though she was smiling slightly. She sighed and said, "Alright, but… easy with the juices if you're going to mess around with the berries. And you realize we should stop thinking about that."

"You mean I should," Castle said to her. "You can think about whatever you want that's sexual and no one's going to know."

Glancing down at him, Beckett smirked and said, "Maybe."

Castle wanted to comment on that but by then they were at the airport and he said, "She's got an amazing commute," as they saw a British Airways A380 coming in for a landing at one of the two north runways.

"And view from her office of that too," Beckett said as they followed Skye into the airport. "I have to wonder where we're parking," she said as they went through a gate.

"Employee parking of course," Castle said before he saw Skye pulling into a space. "Nice," he said since they were close to the runways. "Look," he said.

"Guys," Mary called out as she could see that Castle and Beckett were watching a plane that was coming in for a landing. "Sorry but Skye needs to go and she has to lead us through security before she meets up with the crew."

"I forgot we're going to be able to see more of this at-" Castle started to say before the sound of a loud motor cut into his words.

"You weren't kidding, it is a Falcon," Beckett said in admiration as the investigator's dad drove up to them.

"How's my car lass?" Hayden called out jokingly before he rolled up his window. "Hello my lovelies," he told his granddaughters as they rushed over to him. "So sorry to be a bit late but I managed to get here before you all slipped inside."

"Speaking of which, let's keep going," Skye said before the others paused at the sound of a plane taking off. "We'll see that at lunch, come on," she said insistently.

Walking over to where an employee had a van, Castle and Beckett watched their friend talk with the man for a moment in Spanish before they all climbed in. Since they'd been trying to beef up both of their Spanish for some time, they were able to understand a large part of the conversation; mainly about the plane's flight from Heathrow to there.

"So she's ready to go," Skye said to Castle and Beckett who she thought didn't know how to speak Spanish.

"We know what you were saying," Beckett replied with a smile as the woman looked back at her in slight shock. "And does it still count as the first flight if it flew out here?"

"Passengers," Skye replied. At Beckett's nod she smiled before sitting back and once they had reached the Tom Bradley Terminal, she shook the employee's hand and gave him their thanks for the ride before she got out with the rest of them.

"Skye," a woman called, waving.

"That's Tess Calhoun," Skye said. "She works for British and is the one that suggested I fly the plane. Tess, I'm not late am I?"

"No, you'll go through security with them and then they can go to the lounge," the woman said, shaking her hand before she shook the others' hands.

"Will they be able to use it as well?" Skye asked.

"Oh sure," Calhoun replied with a smile for the twins. "A bit early for them so they can have breakfast."

"It's why I gave you all those smaller bars," Skye explained. "I'd been hoping they'd let you eat there. But nothing too big girls."

"I'll be there to watch them," Mary said, smiling at her wife.

"Right," Skye said before they came out of a passageway going from the tarmac to the building and were inside the terminal. "You remember girls that we need to walk through the gate."

"We remember Mummy," Marie said firmly.

"Yeah we were babies when we did that," Kathleen said insistently almost.

"I know, but-" Skye started to say before her wife took her hand and whispered to her.

"Didn't think she'd be nervous," Castle murmured to his wife since they were at the back of the group.

"Probably because she doesn't fly all the time and this one sounds like it's a big deal," Beckett said with a smile as Skye looked back to them; likely to make sure they were following.

At that point they had reached security so Castle had to take off his shoes along with his wife before they walked through the gate and put them back on on the other side. "So they're excited," he said as he could see that Hayden was holding onto his granddaughters' hands tightly.

"Very," Skye said. "Come on, I'll take you to the lounge and you can eat, have a cup of tea."

"No coffee?" Castle asked slowly.

"There's that but I would have some tea," Skye said with a smile. "I need some tea," she muttered. She felt her hand being taken and smiled at Mary before she led the way to the room.

"Wow," Castle said when he saw where she was taking them.

"The food will be back here," Skye told them. Since they'd left Calhoun at security she looked around for someone before pausing. "Jake!" she called carefully as Hayden was leading the girls to the buffet that was set up.

"Oh good, you made it in time," a man with a British accent as well said, walking over to them with a walkie-talkie in hand. After speaking on it for a moment he then said, "They're running a bit late; the media; so relax and have something to eat or some tea."

"Did she call you?" Skye asked jokingly, pointing to her wife.

"I think it's that we know you Skye," Jake replied. He turned to Castle and Beckett and shook their hands saying, "Jake Quinn; I'll be assisting Skye here at the airport. Enjoy the lounge; they'll call you up to your gate when it's time."

After saying a thank you to the man before he left, Beckett said, "So now you've got some time to relax."

"I think-" Skye started to say before she was suddenly pulled by both her arms after her dad and the twins. "Alright, alright," she told Mary and Beckett. "Why did you join her with that?"

"You look like you can use a meal," Castle commented for his wife.

"And some tea," Beckett replied. "To calm you."

"Not because I'm British," Skye stated. When her wife dragged her over to grab some mugs she smiled back at her friend and then turned her attention to their family.

Getting some food and then tea Castle and Beckett sat at a long, oval table on armchairs as the others sat at the table next to them. They let the family talk together while they spoke on their own, thinking Skye would be grateful for that though she was suddenly looking over at them.

"I appreciate you two coming with us on this," the investigator told them.

"We appreciate the invitation," Castle said sincerely.

"Him for some reason more than me," Beckett said wryly.

"I can tell," Skye replied in amusement. "But I hope you'll enjoy it though it's just a loop around the state."

"The view once we get to San Francisco should be pretty awesome," Castle replied.

Skye opened her mouth to speak when suddenly her phone started to ring and she took it out of her pocket. "Alright, that's Jake," she said, looking at the number. She answered it and spoke to the man quickly before she told the others, "I've got to go prepare but I'll come back to the gate. Um, go in about…"

"Have Jake call me," Mary said calmly to her as she watched her wife stand up. "Love? Your tea."

"I don't have that much…" Skye started to say before she groaned and reached for the cup, drinking off the last bit of it. "I'll see you all…" she said as she hugged first Marie and then Kathleen. "Up at the gate."

Sighing Mary looked at her father in law and said, "When does she go to the flight deck?"

"Soon enough, she'll calm a bit now of course," Hayden replied.

"When can we go?" Marie asked.

"When I get a phone call," Mary replied. "Finish up your food please."

"Is it alright if we walk around?" Castle asked then.

"Why are you asking that?" Mary asked jokingly. "I have your number, I'll call you."

Nodding Castle turned to Beckett to ask if she would even want to and was a little taken aback that she was already standing up. When he then saw the camera in her hand a smile spread across his face and he waved to the twins before joining her and taking her hand. "This should be great," he told her.

"Do you know what airlines come here?" Beckett asked, unable to help smiling at his tone of voice.

"A few but not the whole list," Castle replied. "There'll be a lot of them." He looked around and said, "How far can we go?"

"Rick I'm not your mother, we'll go as far as we can until we get that phone call," Beckett said as they walked to the first terminal they came to where an Air Tahiti Nui was parked.

"Pretty, we should try and get a model of this one," Castle said, studying the light blue livery. He could feel his wife shifting next to him and said, "No?"

"As much as I like planes too, I'd rather fill the house with Lladros than those," Beckett told him with a smile on her face.

"What about my half of the office?" Castle suggested. He grinned at the look that his wife gave him and reached for her hand to kiss the back of it before he let her take a picture and they then walked down to the next plane, an Aeroflot. "Did you fly this to Kiev?" he asked her.

"I did, it was interesting as it was my first time on an Airbus," Beckett replied. "My dad was a little uncertain but of course that's how he flies now to Spain."

"That's how we'll fly there," Castle said, nodding to the next plane they'd come to, an Iberia plane.

"I'm eager to go," Beckett told him, taking his hand after taking a picture. "But first we just need to get home."

"I'm with you on that of course," Castle said, squeezing her hand gently.

"Oh there's my phone," Beckett said in surprise as her ringtone suddenly began to play. "Sorry we didn't get to go around too much."

"Don't worry, we'll look when we fly home," Castle assured her. "Since we'll fly British," he said in a rush as she was putting her phone to her ear.

Giving him a brief glance, Beckett said, "Hello?"

"We're in the other direction you went, at gate 122," Mary told her. "We'll see you there."

"Rick," Beckett said warningly, taking his hand quickly as he was starting to walk away and pulling him the other way.

"But there's a China Airlines over there… plum blossoms?" Castle said slowly.

"Come on," Beckett told him firmly. She smiled when he let go of her hand before he wrapped his arm around her waist. "We'll try and find one when we come back."

"Oh so you heard me," Castle replied.

"How could I not," Beckett said simply. By then they'd reached the gate and she smiled as she could see that the twins had their faces plastered to the window. "It's there?" she asked Mary since Hayden was with the girls.

"She is," the woman said, walking with them to the others.

"Wow," Castle said. "That is awesome."

"You use the word awesome a lot," Mary said, looking at him with a smile.

"I'm at a loss for a descriptive word," Castle said. "Awe-inspiring?"

Mary turned to him, about to point out to him that that was technically two, when she looked past his shoulder and a broad smile spread across her face.

A little surprised at that Castle turned around with Beckett as the woman walked past them and saw that she was nearly running to her wife. "Wow, so she's a pilot," he commented. "Four bars and everything."

"Smart man, you know how to count," Skye said teasingly to him as she hugged Mary.

"It's very sharp," Beckett said. "You need to wear the hat?" she asked, seeing it under the woman's arm.

"Of course, I'm a British Airways pilot," Skye answered. "The boots aren't standard of course," she said jokingly as she was wearing her Windsors over her black trousers. " _Grá_ , please," she told her wife teasingly.

"Sorry, you look great," Mary said, straightening the tie Skye was wearing.

"Mummy," Marie and Kathleen said at the same time then as she looked over at them.

Watching the family together Beckett then realized that Hayden hadn't gone over to them. She glanced back at him and saw that he was walking over to his daughter before he saluted her.

"Safe journey lass," Hayden told his daughter who saluted him back.

"Thank you Dad," Skye said. She heard her name being called and she glanced back to see her co-pilot. "Ah good, you made it," she said with a smile as a man was walking up to them. "Kate, Rick you two will remember Phin I think," she said, introducing him.

"We do it's good to see you again," Castle said, shaking the man's hand. "You're still a co-pilot?"

"A captain now," Phin replied with a smile. "But co-pilot for this flight."

"We'll be in good hands," Beckett said, shaking his hand next.

"We need to check out the plane, once we do that we'll pose for pictures outside," Skye said. "And once we're done you'll be allowed to board."

"Have fun looking Mummy," Marie said.

Cupping the twins' cheeks Skye then went with Phin to a group of people at a door to head down to the plane on the tarmac.

Castle watched as the twins hurried in a walk as fast as they could back to the window and he commented, "Just like Julia and Eliza."

Beckett smiled at that, and then said, " _I think her wife's uniform is appealing_ ," as Mary went swiftly after her daughters.

Not surprised she spoke Irish for that, Castle said, " _You think it'd be for you_?"

"What you want to dress as a pilot for Halloween?" Beckett asked him a little wryly.

"Not really," Castle told her. "But would a uniform do that for you?"

"Excite me, maybe, but I wouldn't want to play around with it," Beckett replied. When her husband looked at her as soon as she said that she told him, " _I know, they're not doing a fantasy but I'm just saying for us it wouldn't work because of that. Skye's an actual pilot_." She paused for a moment and then smiled saying, " _It is nice to see them still in love though; from what we've seen during this trip_."

Nodding Castle replied, " _I agree with you fully there_." He then switched to English and said, "Come on, you didn't have a chance to take pictures. The girls will love seeing this when we get back to them."

Back at the window with the others, Beckett took pictures of the plane with an elongated upper level; a double decker except the seats didn't reach to the base of the tail as an A380 did. "I'm surprised they didn't just bother to go all the way back," she told Mary.

"Skye was surprised too but she understood it'd be hard to tell the two planes apart if they did that," the woman replied as she kept her gaze down on the tarmac where she could see her wife and Phin making their last check of the outside of the plane. "They took her advice on the design though, a colored tail up to the end of the second level."

"That was a good call," Castle said. "It points out the difference. And the planes she's going to design?"

"The liveries," Mary added to that. "And she needs to see, she might go orange or a color to go with the picture on the side. She hasn't been able to start those yet though."

"Understandable," Beckett commented before the twins giggled in front of them.

"Look Mommy, Mummy's taking the pictures now," Kathleen said. She looked at Castle and Beckett and told them, "Mummy doesn't really like doing that."

"She doesn't?" Castle asked before he found the woman in the line of the crew that the media was taking pictures of. He could just barely see her face but what he could make out lent truth to the girl's words. "I think you're right. Hopefully they won't make her do that for too long," he commented.

"No they aren't," Hayden said, sounding relieved when he saw that the crew was being allowed to leave. When he noticed the others looking at him he quickly told them, "Had to do the same myself in the sixties; never enjoyed that. Bloody photographers."

After the tarmac underneath the plane was cleared an announcement came over the loudspeaker and the group went to the gate where Mary gave their passes which allowed them to board first.

"How did they get on the plane first?" Beckett asked Mary as they were walking on the jet way.

"They had a set of stairs for maintenance; they just went up that way as it was easier after the photographs. They have a schedule since this is having its first actual flight in about three hours after we come back," she replied.

"And they'll need to clean up and get the food onboard," Hayden added. "She'll fly back to Heathrow."

They entered the plane and Castle looked around as they were led to the stairs at the economy seating and saw that it looked to have a little more space between the seats. He then looked over at the stairs to the second level and said, "Nice and modern."

"Of course, it has to be," Skye said, appearing at the top in her white shirt with four gold bars at the shoulders.

"Mummy?" the twins asked as Mary said her wife's name in confusion.

"You're up a bit early, a quick look around before the others come in," Skye said as she stepped aside for them to come up.

After looking at the two by two seats with entertainment systems and collapsible walls, Castle and Beckett chose the first two seats on the right as the others sat on the other side, watching Skye sit in her seat before Phin went in after her and the two were looking around obviously. Others filtered in and only fifteen minutes later the door to the cockpit was closed and the flight attendants were performing the safety demonstration before the plane began to back away from the gate.

Beckett couldn't help smile as the twins started to clap when their mother spoke over the loudspeaker and she leaned over to look at Mary. She wasn't surprised to see the pride on the woman's face as the plane then went to the end of the runway and she leaned back to murmur to her husband, "I bet you anything when she sees her again after the flight-"

"She'll kiss her?" Castle finished before she could. When Beckett looked at him, "We shouldn't bet, I already know she'll do that." As soon as he finished saying that the engines started to power up and they began to head down the runway and he watched out the window with her as they went faster until they lifted off from the ground. Watching the ocean soon appearing below them he said, "Great take off."

"Her father would have been proud of that one," Hayden commented.

"More than likely," Mary said with a smile.

After they'd reached their cruising altitude, Beckett took off her seat belt and said to Mary, "Want us to take them down the plane?"

"Sure, she'll be set on autopilot soon," Mary replied. "But I'd like to stay here."

With a nod Beckett waited for Castle to step into the aisle before she joined him and they took a twins' hand before they headed down towards the back of the second level. "What do you think?" she asked Marie as they came to a bar towards the middle.

"It's really pretty," the little girl replied. "I can't wait to see Mummy after."

"Yeah she's flying really great," Kathleen said. "Even though it's on autopilot now."

"I wish I could go inside and see the controls," Marie said with a sigh.

"Maybe after?" Castle suggested.

"I dunno, maybe," Marie replied.

Towards the back of the plane, Castle saw they'd reached some small rooms with beds and he said, "I've always wanted to get one of these. Especially on a flight to Australia."

"Why didn't you?" Kathleen asked him.

"Well the A380 wasn't around yet but next time we fly to the South Pacific we're getting one of these," Castle said, directing the last to his wife.

"Whatever you say Rick," Beckett replied a little absently, Marie was trying to open the door to the little room and she had to stop her. "I don't think they're going to appreciate us going in," she told her. "But at least we got to see it."

"It's like a playhouse," Marie said.

"Kind of but we should get back up to the front," Castle said. "Love," he then told his wife. "Did you take any pictures?"

"Not yet, we can take them back up and-" Beckett started to say.

"We can go," Kathleen said.

"Yeah we're not gonna get lost," Marie said. "And we won't touch anything, not when it's Mummy's plane."

"Okay then go ahead and have fun," Castle said. "Oh, but one thing!" he said quickly when the two looked poised to take off. "Don't run." He smiled when the two exhaled heavily at that before they started to walk and he turned to his wife. "So," he said.

"I don't know if I like that tone," Beckett said, pretending to be concerned.

"What, do you think I'm going to suggest we sneak into one of these?" Castle asked, tapping the wall of one of the rooms.

"Why? There's no roof and there are windows in them too," Beckett replied, a slight smile on her face.

"Too bad," Castle replied.

Shaking her head, Beckett started to take pictures before she walked with him back towards the front, stopping at the last row of seats. She took a photograph of what looked like a river cutting through flat land and when she felt her husband's head next to her she smiled saying, "Do you know what that is?"

"Not really, do you?" Castle asked her.

"The San Joaquin Aqueduct," Beckett replied. "Have you ever heard of it?"

"I think so," Castle said thoughtfully. "It takes water down to Southern California."

"From the north, I learned a little about it in my history class," Beckett said. "I've never seen it though."

"Is that a freeway along it?" Castle asked. At his wife's nod he said, "And this is farmland, the San Joaquin Valley."

"Oh so you know something about the state," Beckett said teasingly. She smiled when he kissed her cheek and then followed him to the other side of the plane where she took a few more pictures of the view from there.

"You know we should go up to the bar, the windows there will have a nice view of the wings," Castle said as they were looking out the window by then. "You'd have-"

"You didn't think I was anticipating doing that?" Beckett asked in amusement, looking back at him.

"Should we go now?" Castle asked.

Smiling Beckett nodded and followed him to nearly the middle of the plane where she took a few shots of the wings and the view below on both sides. When they made it back to the front she wasn't too surprised when a reporter stopped them.

"Hello, Jack Hammond from the _LA Times_ ," the man introduced himself. "I'm wondering if I might speak to you both?"

"Sure," Castle said as he glanced to his wife and saw her slight nod.

"Great so you're friends with the pilot, Ms. McDouglas?" Hammond asked.

"We are," Beckett said, having an idea of what the man was going to ask next.

"And how did you meet her?" Hammond inquired.

Smiling at Castle, Beckett then began to speak about their meeting the investigator for their case and the subsequent incident after flying from DC to NYC with him helping her. But they didn't give too many details and when they had finished she said, "We've kept in touch with her, she's a good friend."

"Of course and did she invite you here for the flight?" Hammond asked.

With a nod, since that was partially true, Castle shook the man's hand first after the reporter thanked them for speaking to him and he turned to his wife. "That went better than I thought it would," he commented.

"I know, I was afraid he was going to try and dig into her past," Beckett said. "Or something with Mary," she said as she looked over at the woman who was still sitting with Marie on her lap.

"Ladies and gentlemen," Skye's voice came over the loudspeaker then. "We're nearly at San Francisco I'll need to have everyone sit with their seat belts securely fastened as I'll be descending for our photo shoot."

When they'd sat down, Beckett held her camera at the ready, taking shots as they flew past the city and then started to bank to the left. "A u-turn," she told Castle.

"I was wondering which direction we'd go in," he said with a slight dip of his head. "We'll have the bridge on this side," Castle then said as Mary and Hayden were switching to seats behind them.

Beckett was taking pictures then of Marin Valley below them and she smiled when she soon saw the freeway leading to the bridge. She took pictures the entire time they passed by it, hearing the twins behind her and Castle exclaiming over the view until the plane started to climb. "Okay let's hope the pictures came out well," she said.

"I don't know we could fly around and do that again," Castle said.

"Not really," Mary told him in amusement. "There's the fact they have the flight to Heathrow."

"She makes a valid point," Castle told his wife.

Beckett shared a smile with Mary before the woman went back to her seat with her daughters and father in law. Leaning against the side of the plane when they were alone she started taking pictures again as they soon flew over Monterey Bay on their way down the coast to Los Angeles.

* * *

"There she is!" Marie exclaimed.

"Back to just Skye?" Castle called as he held the little girl's hand and Hayden held Kathleen as Mary was hurrying to her wife who was back in her t-shirt and jeans.

"That's right, no longer Pilot McDouglas," Skye was able to say before her wife was throwing her arms around her and kissing her deeply.

"See?" Castle said. When his wife playfully punched him on the arm he said, "Thank you."

"Not a problem," Beckett said, shaking her head before the twins were allowed to join their mothers. She took Castle's hand as they watched Hayden go over as well and said, "A little awkward."

"Well, eventually they'll join us," Castle replied.

"Okay," Skye said, thanking her family for their congratulations for the flight. "Dad, you're sure you don't want to join us?"

"I'll leave you to it," Hayden said. "I'll be getting some things ready for my granddaughters in a couple days and a few other things I need to do."

"Dad," Skye said. "Are you getting another car?"

"Perhaps," Hayden said. "For you Skye, for you. But it was a wonderful flight lass."

"Thank you Dad, we'll see you," Skye told him, hugging him before he left. "Sorry, we're ready to go now," she said as she led the way over to Castle and Beckett.

"How was it?" the former asked her as they started to walk to the exit.

"It flew… like a dream, I almost didn't want to go onto autopilot," Skye said in response, a smile on her face. "But that was pretty fun to fly next to bridge; my first time doing that."

"It was a great maneuver," Beckett told her. "The pictures should be great."

"Let's hope," Skye said as they were then walking up the ramp the three of them had exited from four days before.

Splitting up Castle and Beckett followed Skye in their car out to Sepulveda and In-N-Out for their lunch, talking about the flight. Parked behind the family they watched as Skye and Marie rushed to the table the woman had sat at with them when they'd been there before.

"So this is your spot?" Castle asked when they were approaching her.

" _Grá_! You forgot your camera," Mary said in a mock angry tone. "Here, the usual?"

"Of course, thank you _mo grá_ ," Skye said, kissing her cheek. "Oh, you two can-"

"I'll go in with her," Castle said. "I know what Kate wants."

"You sure?" Beckett asked, slightly surprised at that.

"Yeah you've got the camera; take the pictures for me okay?" Castle said.

"And the girls," Beckett said before he left, Kathleen going with them as well.

"Here comes one Mummy!" Marie was crying out, standing on the sidewalk.

"Okay," Skye told her before taking out her camera. "Surprised?" she asked when she showed the telephoto lens camera to her friend.

"Not really," Beckett said, slightly laughingly. She then watched the woman undo her brown hair from the bun it'd been in and asked, "For the hat?"

"It looks neater up like that," Skye said. "Are we too late?" she asked as she led Beckett over the dirt next to the table to cut across to the sidewalk.

"No, there it is, it's Southwest Mummy," Marie said quickly.

"Of course," Skye said.

"Of course?" Beckett asked after they took pictures of the plane.

"The hub is right across the way remember," Skye said, pointing across the street.

"That would explain it," Beckett replied, seeing the same livery on the planes around gates at one terminal. "Do you always take pictures of them when you know it's the next plane?"

"A lot," Marie piped up. "For practice."

"That way I don't get rusty," Skye called as she went back and then a little past the table to look to the east. "Another one and she looks to be quite large."

"Mummy, don't you have your radio?" Marie then asked as her mother came back to them.

"That I do, can you…" Skye asked Beckett. When she nodded, the investigator went to her father's car and grabbed something from the back before returning to them. "It's the tower," she explained. "I can hear who's coming in next."

Listening to the conversation, Beckett asked, "You can figure that out?"

"Oh sure," Skye said easily. "Hold on Marie," she told her daughter who was tugging on her hand. "How do you think I was talking on the plane? It's a Korean Air."

"The A380?" the little girl asked eagerly.

"No, 747," Skye replied before she raised her camera.

Beckett hurried to do the same and took a picture at the same time as Skye did and watched the plane descend onto the runway. She coughed a little at the sudden smell that drifted back to them and asked, "That's the plane?"

"The tires," Skye explained. "Not pleasant but it means they got down alright."

"There weren't that many people in there," Mary said as her wife was looking at them in surprise as she, Castle and Kathleen approached. "So lunch is ready."

"We have a chance sweetling," Skye told Marie, taking her hand. "You know we'll see and hear if anyone's coming."

"Okay," the little girl said with a sigh.

"Anything interesting?" Castle asked.

"A Korean Air 747," Beckett answered.

"Looks like there's another Southwest on its way," Skye said as they all looked to her radio.

"That's the tower?" Castle asked interestedly.

"Yep," Skye said. "It's still a bit out you two," she directed to her daughters. "And it's Southwest, so keep eating."

"We'll stay for a while, we haven't been able to do this for some time," Mary said. "Not since before you went to Seattle love."

"True," Skye answered with a slight nod.

After the Southwest plane had gone by Castle looked to the investigator to see what was coming in next.

"Hawaiian," Skye said, knowing everyone around the table was wondering. She leaned back looking to the east and said, "Yeah, she's fairly far back so we have some time." She went back to her food but checked from time to time on the plane until it was closer. "Alright, here we go," she said as the twins wiped their mouths and hands before getting up. She did the same and was followed to the sidewalk by the others, her camera at the ready. She was just about to set the shot up when there was a sudden burst of communication from the walkie-talkie.

About to ask Skye what the man was saying from the plane, Beckett heard a sudden roaring sound; the engines powering up before the plane above them nearly jerked upwards.

Hearing people at the tables around them exclaiming in surprise at that, Skye called, "It's a go around just wind shear; they're alright."

"I hate when they do that," Mary said, shaking her head.

"Does that happen often?" Castle asked as they all watched the plane climb before disappearing from sight.

"No but they caught it in time," Skye replied. "And we've seen it a few times before. They'll just climb back up and come around for another go. We'll see them soon."

"That didn't scare you two?" Beckett asked the twins, a little surprised to see them so calm. When they shook their heads she said, "So I guess you have seen it before."

"I got some pictures of it once," Skye said as they went back to the table since the next plane was far back as well. "They know how to handle that though, they're trained."

"Which means you are too," Castle said. At Skye's nod he went back to his food to eat before the plane came in to land.

That one was a China Airlines 747 and Beckett smiled as she watched her husband take the shot as he'd asked to do. "There, you got your plum blossoms," she told him teasingly.

"Looks like I did," Castle said, showing her the screen of the camera.

"Nice," Beckett replied with a nod as she took it back from him. "Where's the Hawaiian?" she asked Skye.

"Nearly here," the investigator replied.

"It's the next one," Beckett guessed.

"You recognized the call sign… though considering it's Hawaiian I'm not surprised," Skye said with a grin on her face. "You're learning."

"You could tell what they're saying?" Castle asked his wife as it was a little hard to understand the people speaking.

"I got Hawaiian, other than that…" Beckett said.

"Takes experience to get a good ear for what they say," Mary told them.

"Do you know?" Castle asked her.

"I've learned," Mary said before smiling. "And next up will be an Air France jet."

"Air Frans?" Castle said.

"Mummy-" Kathleen started to say.

"Go ahead," Skye said, standing up. "I'll help clean up after _grá_. Oh and it's spelled a-i-r-f-r-a-n-s all in one word." She went to stand with her daughters and then looked over at Castle and Beckett who were standing next to her. "That explained it?" she asked just before she and Beckett got their cameras ready to take pictures.

"It did," Beckett replied once the Air France had gone by shortly after the Hawaiian, an A380.

"You can't fly those can you?" Castle asked.

"I wouldn't want to," Skye reminded him. "I told you about Airbus."

"Too bad, that would be amazing to do," Castle replied.

"I told you about the joystick," Skye said.

"I wouldn't try and convince him about that," Beckett told her quickly. "He's thinking of a video game."

"I know but I still need to try," Skye said. "So when do you two want to head down to Laguna?"

"Another half hour Rick," Beckett said as he turned to her at that. "We'll see more planes when we come back."

"Sure," Castle finally said.

"Okay good, you remember everything we told you about the house right?" Skye asked.

"We do," Beckett said, watching her go back to the table to help her wife clear it off. "Anything else or was that it?"

"No, that's it," Skye said in amusement. "You can call us if you need to."

"So a half hour it is then," Castle said. "And that'll be an Air Canada next."

"You're learning," Skye said with a nod. "Before you leave you'll be an expert."

With a laugh the adults stood with the twins, watching as the plane; an Air Canada 737; came in for a landing above them.

* * *

"This is the street," Beckett told her husband, looking at the sign on the corner.

"Good thing you're here I'm pretty sure I would have just driven right past it on my own," Castle said, turning right. "Since I wouldn't have been able to see it."

"There's the ocean," Beckett said as they came to a t shaped intersection; the water behind some homes. She looked back at the GPS map on her phone and said, "Make a left." She looked at the numbers of the houses and once she saw the one for the beach house said, "Here it is."

Castle used the garage door opener that Skye had given to them and pulled inside it, parking on the side as he and Beckett had discussed in their nearly hour long drive down to the city that they were likely not going to need the car again. "Okay so you remember the code for the gate right?" he asked his wife as they got out to get their suitcases from the back seat, the key for the garage door inside the house.

"I do," Beckett said. "And I have the key," she then added, holding it up before she opened the garage door and stepped out. She smiled at the sight of the water down the narrow path against the side of the house to the front door and then turned her attention to it to unlock it so they could step inside. She looked around the entry, seeing an open window that looked on a room to their right before glancing to the left at the family room down a flight of rich wood stairs.

"Wow, this is… impressive," Castle said. "Why is Skye rich?" he asked.

"This is her dad's house and this he was able to get at a good price," Beckett reminded him. "A long time ago. And as for Skye, her father had something to with some manufacturing plant back in England and with Boeing."

"I'm surprised no one complains she's got a bias for them," Castle replied.

"She's investigated other aircraft," Beckett said though she knew he was aware of that. She had placed her bag in a set of cubby holes against the wall under the staircase to the second floor and asked her husband, "Which way?"

"Heads or tails?" Castle asked in reply.

"Why don't we go upstairs first to get these put away?" Beckett suggested, gesturing to the suitcases. When he nodded she picked hers up and went up the stairs first where at the top she turned to her left saying, "I'm still not sure why no one uses the master."

"Well if it's easier for her dad to use the downstairs bedroom…" Castle said before he trailed off as he saw the view they had. "That's unexpected and awesome."

"You keep using that word," Beckett said in mock irritation though she was looking out at the ocean from the floor to ceiling window that comprised the western end of the bedroom. "Get a thesaurus. It's incredible."

"Really? You like it that much?" Castle asked, turning to her and smiling at her.

"I do, you know how we are around the ocean," Beckett told him, smiling back. She then tore her gaze somehow from the windows to the rest of the room. The walls were incredibly pale blue, bright in the sun coming through the glass and lighting up the large bed against the eastern wall. "Well I think we'll be comfortable here," she commented to her husband as she set her suitcase on top of the bed to start unpacking.

"I wonder why Skye and Mary don't use this room," Castle said. "It looked like this is the only room on this side, with this view."

"We can ask them when they come," Beckett said, taking a sundress she'd packed for any possible dinner she and her husband might have together. Hanging it in the closet, she went to the doorway of the bedroom and called to him saying, "Look at the bathtub."

Going over to her, Castle soon saw what she was looking at and he nodded saying, "That somehow doesn't surprise me," as the tub was sunken in the floor and surrounded right and left and in front by glass walls. "It is tinted."

"I didn't think the tub would be there if it wasn't," Beckett said, smiling. "We'll have to look through the house when we're finished."

"Right," Castle said, going with her back to the bed where he'd been unpacking his things.

Since they were only staying for a short time, neither of them took out too many clothes and were soon finished, going down the hall to the other bedrooms on the floor.

"So this must be the twins' room," Beckett said, looking at one. "And two guest bedrooms."

"You don't see Skye and Mary using these?" Castle asked. "Or is it the fact that there are no planes that tipped you off."

"No planes," Beckett told him with a smile. "But I really have to wonder where they stay."

"We'll find out downstairs I'm sure," Castle said, pulling her back to the stairs. Once they were on the ground floor he went through the family room before taking her into the kitchen that was to their right. "Small," he said.

"It's a narrow house Rick," Beckett said.

"Still, can't have too many people in here," Castle replied, walking back and then to the hall they'd been unable to see by the angles of the walls. "Oh, here's the room with the window… living room?"

"Likely," Beckett said, looking at something that had caught her eye.

"Whose guitars?" Castle asked as he followed her gaze and saw three of them in stands. "Rickenbacker, Gibson and a Hofner… Hayden's?

"Who knows- don't touch," Beckett said, tugging on his hand hard as he started to walk over to them.

"Just going to have a look love," Castle protested.

"No you weren't, so since there's only one door left that's Hayden's room," Beckett said. "So, patio?" she asked him. She wasn't surprised when he didn't say anything to that, instead led her back to the family room and the French doors that were glass surrounded by the same rich wood of the floor. "Oh wow," she breathed when they got to the railing of the small deck and looked down at the beach below them from where they were at the top of a cliff.

"That's amazing, I wonder if they spend a lot of time here," Castle commented.

"So that's what she was talking about," Beckett said, pointing down the staircase going down to their right. "The gate to the beach."

"I see," Castle said, seeing said gate. "Want to go for a walk?" he asked her then. "Or should we call the girls first?"

Looking at her watch, Beckett nodded and said, "Better we call them now and then we can explore."

Castle followed her back inside and he hurried to get the TV above a small fireplace ready for their Skype conversation while Beckett was texting her father. "Are we ready?" he asked her when he was finished.

"They are," Beckett said, watching him turn on the TV before their daughters were appearing on the screen. Smiling, she said, "Better than yesterday you two."

"'Cause we're not making faces?" Julia asked with a grin.

"Because of that," Castle said. "Okay, so let's hear about your days you two," he told them.

Giggling, Eliza spoke about her day first, much like they had been the other times she'd told them, and when she'd finished she said, "Tomorrow we play all day."

"It sounds like it was a fun day today though," Beckett told her. "And you Julia?" she said, smiling at her.

"Well, today were the tests," Julia replied. "And…"

"What? Don't leave us hanging in suspense!" Castle said, pretending to sound exasperated when she didn't continue.

Julia couldn't help laugh and she took a piece of paper that Alexis was holding saying, "Can you see?"

"We can," Beckett told her. "So they were all out of one hundred right?"

"They were," Julia said quickly.

"Ninety-six for English," Castle read from the paper. "Ninety-seven for history, ninety for Math and ninety-one for Science. Very nice sweetheart. I knew you'd do well on those tests."

"Thanks Daddy," Julia said. "Did I do good Mommy?"

"You did," Beckett replied reassuringly. "So studying helped you?"

"She was studying like crazy," Alexis said, putting her arm around her little sister's shoulder. "So I thought she would remember everything and looks like I was right."

"And besides the tests?" Beckett asked.

"It was mostly the tests," Julia replied. "But when we weren't doing that we could play with some games in the classroom."

"Are you going to do the same thing tomorrow?" Beckett asked her.

Nodding Julia said, "Yep we're just gonna play and sign yearbooks. I got mine today at the end of school."

"I wish we were there to sign it," Castle said.

"You will," Julia assured them. "When can you come home?"

"Not until Sunday night unfortunately," Beckett said, sharing a glance with her husband.

"Oh, well you tried to come," Julia said, looking at Alexis.

"She's right, you did," the young woman said quickly. "And if you're thinking about Father's Day we can just celebrate it on Monday."

Castle didn't reply to that and instead just nodded to them before he said, "What did you do today?"

"Just relaxed out on the beach," Alexis said. "What about your day?"

"Yeah we want to know," Julia piped up.

"Me too!" Eliza said hurriedly.

"Okay well we went on that flight we told you about," Beckett said, sharing a smile with her husband. "That Skye flew and it was very nice, the scenery outside the windows was great. I did get a lot of pictures while we were going."

"And you flew to San Francisco?" Julia said.

"We flew over it, we didn't stop," Castle replied. "And they took pictures outside the plane of it flying in front of the bridge before we came back to LA."

"That was until now?" Julia asked.

"No, no," Beckett said. "We didn't finish yet," she added with a smile. "After we were off the plane we went with Skye and Mary and their daughters to the hamburger restaurant by the airport."

"You saw planes?" Eliza asked.

"A lot of them," Castle said, looking sheepish as his wife pushed him on the shoulder then. "Sorry love." Looking back at the others he told them, "We were only supposed to stay a short time… I kind of pushed your mom to keep staying where we were until we were about… an hour-"

"Hour and a half," Beckett said wryly.

"Yeah that long, we were that late and then we rushed to get down here," Castle said, nodding his head a few times.

"I can imagine you doing that Dad," Alexis said in amusement.

"Why did you stay?" Jim asked his daughter.

"She was watching the planes too," Castle explained.

"And taking pictures," Beckett said, knowing Julia was going to ask that. "Which you'll see, I promise."

"So now you're at the beach house," Alexis said.

"We are," Castle replied. "And we wish you guys could see it. You know Skye told us she tried to get tickets for you to come out for Sunday too but she couldn't get any in time for that either."

"It is pretty short notice Dad," Alexis replied.

"And we're glad that you tried," Julia added. "We know you wanted to see us."

"Very badly," Castle replied. "And not see you," he said, smiling a little when the girls giggled at his tone. "But to have you here with us."

"You'll have a short vacation," Julia insisted. "And then come to go on our bigger vacation with us."

"A long time," Eliza said firmly.

Laughing softly with her husband, Beckett said, "You never told us how dance class was Julia."

"Oh! Just Cha-Cha-Cha steps," the little girl replied with a smile. "It was fun and then we signed yearbooks after."

"I hope you left some space for us there," Castle said.

"I did," Julia said with a smile. "But I'll have you sign when you get home and everyone else too."

"You didn't let your sisters or grandpapa sign?" Beckett asked in slight surprise.

"No, you're gonna be the first to sign," Julia insisted.

"Thank you sweetie," Beckett said, knowing with that tone of voice they wouldn't be able to convince the little girl she didn't have to do that. "So now what will you be doing?"

"Swimming!" Eliza cried out. "You too?"

"Not today, we're going to walk down the beach for a little and then explore the city around the house," Castle said. When the girls looked at Alexis he asked, "Do you want us to go now?"

"I think they do," Jim said, a slight smile on his face.  
"Alright then let's say goodnight," Beckett told them. "Julia, Eliza, goodnight and sweet dreams, I love you both."

"Love you Mommy, lots!" Eliza exclaimed, opening and closing her hand to her.

"So do I Mommy, I love you as much too," Julia said, smiling at her little sister.

"And I love you two," Castle said. "Julia, Eliza, like your mom said, sweet dreams okay?" he then added, pretending to be serious.

Giggling, Eliza nodded and said, "I love you Daddy lots too."

"Love you Daddy, have a good time there with Mommy," Julia said.

"We will," Beckett assured them. She and Castle said goodbye to his daughter and her father before they hung up and she turned to him saying, "Are you okay?"

"Are you asking in reference to yesterday?" Castle asked instead of answered. When she nodded he said, "I'm doing a lot better," in reassurance. "Why don't we head out now?" he then said.

Smiling Beckett went to the coffee table behind them and grabbed her camera she'd set on top of it before going to him and taking his outstretched hand. Squeezing it she waited for him to lock the door after them before they went to the stairs. Since the staircase was narrow they had to let go of each other and because of that she was able to see the fire pit at the first landing they came to. "There's a door here," she told her husband, stepping to their left and seeing windows all along the wall.

"There's a room here?" Castle said, looking at the door that was there. "I bet this is where they stay when they're here."

"It seems like it," Beckett said, glancing up. "So they probably stay with her dad when they have the girls here."

"So he stays with them," Castle said. He followed her back to the stairs and they went down together past another landing with a bench and hose before they came to the end where the gate was. After she had opened it he took the key from her to lock it and from a short ledge jumped down onto the sand with her. "You don't want to take those off?" he asked her.

Smiling as he meant her boots she had on, Beckett shook her head and said, "I'm alright, we're just walking remember?"

"Okay," Castle said before they went down to where the sand was a little firmer under foot. He watched her take a few pictures of the water and waves breaking before he followed her turning to the left where some rocks were breaking through into view. "It's a nice beach," he said. "Popular too," since there were people as far as they could see on either side.

"I'm not too surprised," Beckett said, since it was warm and by then she'd taken off her thin jacket she'd worn over her white shirt for the flight. When she'd turned back around to take a picture of the cliff where the house was she said to her husband, "What're you thinking?"

"Nothing, just watching you," Castle said. "Wondering how those'll turn out."

"They'll be fine, come on," Beckett said, reaching for his arm.

As they walked to the north on the beach; having seen south that it looked like rocks blocked the rest of the beach; Castle and Beckett had to watch the incoming waves as they were high still. But they managed to do alright until they came to small rocks that were covering their way.

"Oh crap, I didn't realize it narrowed so far here," Castle said as he took his wife's arm and literally pulled her after him.

"It's okay," Beckett called, having to do so as the breaking waves were loud with the building echoing the sound. She cried out slightly in her surprise as a wave nearly washed over her feet but she just managed to jump the rocks until she was with her husband, holding onto his arm to keep her balance.

After they'd run a little past the rocks Castle said, "Did you get hit?"

"Hit? No I didn't get wet," Beckett was quick to correct him with a smile. "Come on love, let's keep going," she told him even as she was taking a picture of the way they'd come with the water rushing over the rocks.

"Good thing we're going back on the street," Castle said before he took her hand. He was standing to her right so he looked on as her photographs focused on the water before she took one of the beach and buildings ahead and to their right. "It's a nice community," he said when they reached a lifeguard tower eventually.

"Oh I know," Beckett said, smiling as they had to pause for some kids running to the water in front of them. She put down her camera then and wrapped her arms around Castle's left one saying, "How far do you want to go?"

Looking at his watch, Castle replied, "I think a little further is good."

"What about what's there?" Beckett said, pointing to where she could see people on top of some rocks.

"That's a good place to stop… since it doesn't look like the beach goes on past that," Castle replied.

When they neared the rocks Beckett saw a sign and said, "Tide pools."

"Better get that camera ready," Castle told her, chuckling slightly under his breath when he looked to his wife and saw that she already had.

Climbing up the rocks after him, Beckett took a shot immediately of the pools in the rocks and she took another of a large rock further out in the water where birds were all around the top of it. She then carefully followed her husband over to one pool where no one was at the moment and knelt with him. "Sea stars," she said in surprise when she saw two in the water.

"I know," Castle said, waiting for her to take a few pictures. "Looks like they have mussels here too…"

Looking on as he reached into the water, Beckett took a picture of him holding the bigger of the sea stars and then dipped her fingers under to touch the top of it. "And sea urchins too," she said, seeing the purple colored animals on the bottom. She was careful touching those before finally raising her hand to shake off the water.

"You want to use my shirt?" Castle asked, having touched the urchins as well.

"I'm fine," Beckett said, smiling at that before they went to the next pool. She took a picture using her dry hand, as urchins and blue-green anemones were all over the bottom of that one.

Two pools over Castle spotted something on the bottom and said, "That's a nice abalone," since a shell was there. "I really wish I could get it for the girls," he mused.

"You saw the sign Rick," Beckett told him as it'd said not to take anything from inside the pools. "And I really don't want to get in trouble for that."

"Neither do I," Castle said before he sighed and they walked together further. He was surprised when she suddenly pulled away from him and then went to the northern most point. "Careful," he said quickly when she seemed to lose her balance, grabbing her hand.

"I'm alright," Beckett said. She took a shot of the waves crashing on the rocks there and then turned to him, not surprised that he had his arm out towards her in case she needed it. "Should we keep going?"

"I think so," Castle said, glancing over at the people that were there, looking around. "They'd love this," he said.

"I took a lot of pictures," Beckett said. But she wasn't too surprised when her husband shook his head and she sighed saying, "I know it's not the same."

"Let's go," Castle said, taking her hand though it was still a little damp.

When they got back to the sand they walked up to the sidewalk next to the street that was the same highway that PCH was in Santa Monica. They headed down the west side, looking at the shops and restaurants they were passing.

"Didn't Skye say something about there being a lot of art in this city?" Castle asked as they passed another gallery and he saw one across the street.

"She did and something called the Pageant of the Masters," Beckett said. When her husband didn't respond she told him, "I thought you might have heard of that."

"It sounds familiar but I can't remember why," Castle said. "It might have been going on when I was in LA once."

Nodding Beckett held onto his hand as they had to walk in single file when the sidewalk narrowed and they continued until they had reached an intersection with a market. "Should we get what we need?" she asked her husband as they paused on the corner.

"What about grabbing dinner here?" Castle told her, pointing to a building across the street from them.

"Alright but first let's get some things we might need and that we can leave for Skye and Mary," Beckett said.

"Good idea that way they won't have to shop," Castle said before they crossed to the east side and then waited to go down to the market. He picked up a few items, drinks and food supplies, but not a lot before they crossed back to the other side once they were outside. Stepping in he was surprised to see the counter looked like a coffee shop but seeing the menu he realized that they had food as well. "Almost thought I'd brought you to a local café," he told her.

"With just coffee?" Beckett asked in amusement. At his nod she kissed his cheek before she turned her attention to the menu to see what there was. "They have breakfast," she commented.

"Want to come back in the morning?" Castle asked though they had eggs and some bacon for that.

"Sunday I'll make something," Beckett said as they stepped into line then without saying to each other that they were ready.

"You don't have to," Castle said, though he didn't put much effort into protesting that. He smiled at her when she leaned against him for a second and then stood up as they needed to order when they got to the register.

While they were waiting for the food Beckett couldn't help say to him, "I'm a little surprised."

"That I got the smoothie too?" Castle asked her. At her slight nod he said, "I like to diverge from the normal from time to time." He paused for a moment and then said, "Plus it sounds good."

Beckett smiled and shook her head before they were given their drinks and she watched her husband as he took a sip at the same time she did. "Don't say it," she told him warningly.

"I wasn't," Castle said defensively. "Oh who am I kidding with the bee pollen we're definitely in California." He nearly laughed when she paused at that he said, "Got you with that didn't I?" A second later he was blanching visibly at the look she shot to him before he followed her to get their order. "So," he said slowly when they were back on the sidewalk.

"I'm not mad at you Rick," Beckett said, smiling at him. "At this point I'm used to you like that."

"As long as you don't mind it," Castle said as they were passing a hotel on the corner of the next street.

Beckett glanced at him at that and she opened her mouth to speak, wondering why the tone of his voice had been a little unsteady. But she had to stop when he did and she saw that he was looking at the indoor swimming pool the hotel had. "We'll go swimming tomorrow love," she told him.

"No, I'm just looking," Castle told her, smiling at her.

Relieved that his tone was normal then Beckett slipped her arm through his as he was carrying the bags and she said, "It would be fun to swim in there."

"The girls would love it," Castle said as they started to walk again. "You don't think-"

"No we can't make a room around the pool," Beckett said. "Well, to tell you the truth I don't know if it would look that great. I'm sure you probably could put some walls and a roof up. But you're thinking about swimming during the winter aren't you?"

"That would be great but I do like the pool as it is now," Castle said. "Okay, let's just keep it like that."

"Whatever you say," Beckett said, trying to keep the amusement out of her voice at his tone. At the corner of the street they needed to walk down, she looked inside the shop window and said, "Beads."

"A lot of them," Castle added, looking with her. "Any reason why this caught your eye?"

"I'm thinking of coming in when it's open," Beckett said slowly, looking back to try and find the store hours. "To get some for the girls for their art work."

"Interesting idea," Castle replied. "Tomorrow?"

"We can try," Beckett said before she went back to him. As they were going down the hill the street was she looked at the ocean and said, "I'm surprised you didn't insist we go in today."

"If we hadn't been late leaving; because of me I know," Castle said before quickly adding the end. "I would have said we should just take a quick dip. But it'll be fun tomorrow. And now we know we can try out the stand up paddleboards."

"Yes we can," Beckett said with a smile since Skye and Mary had boards there they'd told them. "I have to wonder how you'll do."

"You don't think I could?" Castle asked her as they neared the house.

"I have no idea, we've never done it before," Beckett replied. "So I don't even know if I could."

"Hey you know what I just realized," Castle suddenly told her.

"I need to remember the code?" Beckett asked as she walked up to the gate first.

"Not that," Castle quickly told her. "Since Skye and Mary are going to be here-" There was a loud buzzing noise then and he was cut off by it as he and Beckett entered the path to the house. "Anyways, they're going to be here while we're still here so we can ask them to give you some surfing lessons."

"And what about you?" Beckett asked, opening the front door before they went inside.

"We'll see how I do on that paddleboard," Castle said jokingly. "I'll ask them but I'd rather see you on a surfboard."

Hearing the annoyance at the end of his tone, Beckett looked back at him in amusement and said, "You wanted to touch me just now didn't you?"

"Kind of," Castle replied as they went to the kitchen the shorter way around. "So are you hungry?"

"We had an early lunch and that was a long walk," Beckett pointed out to him.

"Outside it is," Castle said. He felt a thrill at her soft laugh at the fact he hadn't even asked her where she wanted to eat and as soon as he had the bags and his smoothie down on the counter he went to her as she turned towards him.

"I was wai-" Beckett started to say before her husband cut off anything else she could say by crushing his lips against hers. She was quick to recover and also respond, wrapping her arms tightly around his neck as she parted her lips for his searching tongue. When she had to end the kiss to breathe she took a few quick breaths in before she was kissing him that time. There was no surprise to her when he was responding rapidly; nearly instantly; and they started to tilt their heads back and forth slowly until they had to breathe yet again. But as they parted she could feel her lips throbbing; slightly swollen; and also could taste him still. "So is this why everyone wanted us to come here?" she asked when she caught her breath.

"I'm not sure but it seems like it," Castle said.

"Is your mom or Alexis worried about us again?" Beckett asked him.

"Not that I know of," Castle replied. "Your dad?"

"No," Beckett said, shaking her head. "So…"

"The girls?" Castle and Beckett said together then.

"I don't think so," he said first.

"They'd let us know they were worried," Beckett added. "Should we move?" she then said as she realized they weren't letting go of each other.

"I think we should… the smoothies are melting," Castle pointed out. He reluctantly let go of her, feeling her doing the same, and he was quick to get some plates for their sandwiches before they headed out to the deck.

Beckett sat down in the chair facing the water and then smiled as she watched her husband hurriedly drag over another that had been across from her. "You had a nice view of the house on that side," she teased him as he sat.

"You know I did but I'll pass this time around," Castle said, playing along with her. "Maybe next time I'll eat there. Kate? Cheers."

"Cheers," Beckett said with a slight laugh as they tapped their plastic smoothie glasses together. "I'm surprised at you," she then said.

Taking a bite out of his turkey sandwich, Castle couldn't answer but when he was able to he snorted slightly saying, "So many sprouts. You're surprised again? Why because I had turkey?"

"No, the sprouts," Beckett said. "You don't mind them."

"What did Paul say in his Wings documentary? Just be healthy man. Go on and do it," Castle said. "Impressive?" he asked, studying the look on her face.

"Not too bad," Beckett agreed, meaning his accent and attempt to sound as Paul had. "I think you've been watching that movie too many times though."

Since he knew she was kidding with that Castle smirked and said, "You want to watch something tonight still?"

"I would," Beckett replied. "Why, did you want to watch that?"

"No I'm thinking… _Air Crash Investigation_?" Castle said slowly.

Beckett was finishing a bite of her chicken sandwich so it took her another moment to reply before she said, "I think we could but does that seem a little…"

"Macabre? I was thinking that too, it's why I asked you first," Castle said.

Beckett smiled at that and then looked ahead with him to the ocean as they fell into silence. She wasn't surprised when they stayed quiet the rest of the meal; they'd done that many times before; as the moment didn't really seem to need words. When they'd finished and had taken everything back inside to clean up she wasn't surprised when her husband took over leaving her with the chance to go out to the deck again, leaning against the railing as she waited for him.

Drying off his hands, Castle tried not to outright run outside, having glanced at his wife every so often while he'd been working. When he reached her he slipped his arm around her waist and pulling her close he pressed his lips to her temple. "We don't need to really move from here," he murmured to her.

Smiling slightly, as at the same time she was trembling a bit against him, Beckett said, "We do, I'm looking forward to relaxing tonight."

"Whenever you want to go," Castle told her simply.

Looking at the ocean and the beach which had slowly emptied of people Beckett nodded and said, "Come on."

"I'll get the popcorn ready," Castle said. "Would you like something to drink?"

"Wine?" Beckett asked him.

"Only if you want that," Castle assured her.

"Then pour yourself a glass too," Beckett said before she went over to the couch that was against the wall in front of the other side of the kitchen. "What'll we be watching first?" she asked him as she used the remote to get to where they could access the episodes of the show.

Pouring out the wine into the first glass after he'd uncorked a bottle, Castle thought for a moment before saying, "Why don't you decide."

"You can't think of one can you?" Beckett asked.

"No I can, I just don't know what you might want to see," Castle replied.

Beckett smiled and then turned her attention to the list on the screen before one caught her eye. "What about this one?" she asked as he walked around to her with two glasses in hand.

" _Nowhere to Land_?" Castle asked, reading the title. "I don't remember that one, so yeah, go ahead."

Once the episode was playing and her husband was next to her Beckett leaned against him, taking a sip of the wine, letting it give her some warmth as his arm wrapped around her securely.

* * *

Walking into the bedroom a few hours later Castle cleared his throat a little to warn his wife that he was there before he told her, "Everything's closed up down there."

"Good," Beckett said simply before she leaned back against the glass as he walked up to her.

Glancing outside at the ocean that he could hear more than see, Castle turned to her and kissed her gently on the lips once before pulling away. He could feel his heart starting to pound a little roughly in response to the way her eyes seemed to already be darkening in arousal and he reached up, cupping her cheek with his hand before he descended.

Feeling his lips taking hers, Beckett would have moaned if she hadn't been busy at the same moment trying to playfully fight against her husband's tongue that had slipped into her mouth. She had her hands on his chest and she found herself relieved she had the window behind her to hold her up as she wasn't sure if she could have supported herself without it. When Castle pulled away from her, she murmured, "I told you you hadn't had enough."

"Neither did you," he replied as he knew she was talking about their eventual lack of interest in the show they'd been watching as their attention had turned to each other. Castle then pressed his forehead against hers and murmured against her lips, " _I need you_ Kate." He smiled at her slightly strained laugh and then said, " _And you need me_."

" _I want you_ Rick," Beckett told him firmly, getting more of a hold of herself. " _Right now_."

At the tone of her voice Castle didn't waste another second, grabbing her right wrist tightly before he pulled her over to the bed. He turned to her as soon as he stopped and gathered her up in his arms before they were kissing again passionately, grabbing at one another before they both stopped at nearly the same time.

"I…" Beckett said, her brow slightly furrowing.

Pressing his lips to her forehead Castle said, "I know, so am I." He then let her go and said, "Does it matter really?"

"This doesn't feel right," he and Beckett then said after a few moments of silence between them, taking in that question.

"Then we should probably take things slow, see how this'll go?" Castle suggested as a question. When his wife nodded he leaned down and kissed her with the same force as before but that time they wrapped their arms around each other slowly and it felt far more natural before he pulled away from her carefully when they needed to breathe.

Beckett reached up, gently brushing her fingertips against his lower lip, and she whispered, "Better."

"The kiss or speed?" Castle asked jokingly. He wasn't too shocked when in response his wife leaned against him before sliding her hands up the back of his head. He shuddered in pleasure when he felt her nails raking against his scalp gently and he leaned down to brush his lips against her a few times.

"Hmm," Beckett sighed as he drifted down to her neck. She bit her lower lip as his mouth gently started to suck on her pulse. She let him do that for a little longer before carefully pulling back enough so there was space between them, though not too much. She grabbed the bottom of her shirt and pulled it off, not taken aback when Castle's hands were warm on her sides before she even had the white fabric above her head. She smiled at him as he gently stroked her skin and she stepped into his arms before he embraced her tightly.

Castle wanted to kiss her but he felt her fingers undoing the first button on his shirt and he smiled saying, "I can't wait either."

"Then why did I have to start undressing myself just now?" Beckett asked with one eyebrow raised. Before she could pull off his shirt he was doing so for her and she bit her lower lip as she gently ran her fingertips over his chest. "Rick," she sighed as he bent his head then.

Kissing her Castle started out carefully before he then began to deepen it gradually, feeling her responding to him in turn before he slowly pulled away. He could still feel her lips against his as he reached down in between them to her pants, helping her out of them before she did the same for him. He kissed her again but that time far gentler before he helped her onto the bed, making her lay in the middle. When he took her lips he crushed his own to them as hard as he could, carefully dipping his tongue into her mouth to see what she would do when he pulled back. He wasn't surprised to find her in his mouth shortly after that and he groaned slightly before he broke off the kiss to look down at her.

Beckett sat up without her husband needing to say a word, knowing what he wanted already as she assisted him in getting her bra off. She laid back, a little unsure then what he would do next, but she had her answer as he reached for her panties. She arched her hips so he could get them off as well and as he was turning back to her after throwing them to the floor she grabbed the waistband of his boxers, pulling him closer to her.

"Wait," Castle said before he was suddenly hissing in pleasure at the feel of her hand reaching into the fabric after opening the buttons. She was grasping his erection and he had to nearly fight with himself to make sure that she let him go as he was tempted to just let her touch him for however long she wanted.

Beckett couldn't help smiling as she watched her husband stand next to the bed to discard the last bit of clothing he had on and as he was doing that she raised her arms so her hands were next to her head. When he turned back to her she wasn't too surprised to see him pause but was when it was only for a brief second. She wanted to comment on that, wondering if he'd been expecting it, but the second his mouth was crushed against hers she realized that was his arousal pushing him along. She wrapped her arms tightly around him and was about to raise her legs to wrap them around his waist when he stopped her. "No?" she asked, unsure then how things were going to go though they were still committed to a less than frantic tone for it.

"Not yet," Castle said simply before brushing his lips to hers. He then pulled away and leaned down so he could reach her ear which he soon was able to do. Nibbling at the lobe he gave a grunt when his wife suddenly arched against him in response and whispered her name before sliding his lips on the skin below; where he knew she was especially sensitive.

"Oh god," Beckett gasped softly, her right hand firmly clenching the back of his head. "Rick, I'm already-" she tried to tell him before he was kissing her on the lips. She became a little impatient then, knowing what he was going to do, and as soon as they'd parted she told him, "You don't need to."

Though her tone was firm, Castle shook his head and he was a little startled when she cupped his cheeks to keep him from moving then. "What?" he asked her.

"You've done more than enough," Beckett said in assurance.

"Pawing at you on the couch is… a start," Castle said slowly. "This is going to be a little more than that."

Judging by the look in his eyes Beckett knew that he was serious and she bit her lower lip a little roughly before nodding; aware that he needed to have that from her before he did anything else. When his lips went to her neck she couldn't help feel concerned for a moment, knowing that he hadn't meant to finish what he was about to say with the words, 'a start.' But she had no idea what he'd meant to say and was also aware that she wasn't going to be able to find out then so she gave herself to him as she knew she had time to find out later.

At that moment Castle was brushing his lips very carefully over her collarbone, loving the way that his wife was moaning and giving out a slight gasp of pleasure. He went down to the hollow of her throat before he pressed brief kisses around her upper chest, working his way down. At her breasts he raised his head and when her right hand returned to the back of it to cup it he allowed her to lead him down. First he gently nuzzled at her right nipple, carefully and gently as she reacted vocally to him, making him shudder visibly. Finally he parted his lips taking the taut peak with his mouth, gently suckling at it as she cried out his name rapidly. He groaned as her right leg wrapped around his legs but he let her do that as it wasn't a problem being there. He focused his attention on her breasts, going carefully back and forth between both of them until he had to continue before he moved and entered her body that was so close to his own.

Feeling slightly relieved when he moved Beckett watched him descend over her stomach as she bit at her lower lip. She gently ran her fingers through his hair as he slid in a straight line over her mound to her lip; unsure she'd be able to take whatever he would end up doing to her there. The second that his mouth closed around the nub she was reaching down on either side of her, holding onto the bed below as tightly as she could as he'd started to suck and rub his tongue over her at the same time. "I told you love… I'm already… oh god, please!" she started to say before she cried out as she could feel the tips of her husband's fingertips starting to rub up and down over her folds.

"What love?" Castle asked, pulling away so he could ask that. Since he was still touching her he wasn't surprised when she didn't answer so he decided to act as if she had since he was already aware of what she wanted and he switched his mouth and fingers quickly.

Beckett had raised her head slightly when he'd asked that and the second she felt his mouth on her she was collapsing back on the pillow, her eyes closed tightly at first before she forced them back open again. She watched her husband as he seemed to be hungrily lapping at her; judging by the way his tongue and head were moving. She could feel the former and only see the latter but it was enough to set her arousal higher than it had been as they'd been undressing and kissing. And it was far more than she'd felt as they'd been fondling and kissing on the couch downstairs. She wasn't sure how long exactly her husband was working on her but when she felt the absence of him it had been at least a few seconds after he'd moved. "You…" she started to say as he hovered above her then.

Since Beckett was reaching up to touch his lips Castle didn't answer as he was grabbing her hand to hold it in place to kiss her fingers. "I adore you Kate," he told her seriously, letting that hand run over the front of her body.

Looking on Beckett was sure then that there was something wrong with her husband as his lips were almost feverish. She let him do that for a short while more, her body burning with each and every kiss to her skin, before she carefully pulled him up to her making him settle on her as their hips pressed together though they weren't coupled yet. She gently stroked at his face before she worked her way down to his chest. She seemed to be daring him mentally to be the first to break their intense gaze between each other as her fingers brushed around his nipples. When he finally did, his pent up groans seeming to burst from him as a long one, she moved and reached down between them to grasp his member. A thrill passed through her body as he tensed up the instant that he felt her touching him and she was pleased when he moved at her direction to slide inside of her. When he was fully within her she wrapped her arms around his neck and held him as close to her as she could, whispering in Irish to him.

Her urgent tone as she begged him to take her was enough to press Castle into motion and he did so willingly and eagerly before he moved so he could capture her lips with his own. He made that kiss sensuous instead of hungry and he could feel Beckett's surprise in that as she seemed to pause a little in her first response to him. But she was soon kissing him back and they were dueling back and forth with their tongues in their mouths. It was an interesting contrast to their bodies that were moving in a slow, deliberate pace. He wanted to feel her and have her feel him and with the way she was making sure that she was moving in perfect time with him he could tell that she wanted the same. He grunted slightly when he suddenly felt her hand down on his ass and he pulled away from her saying, "You just want to touch?"

Smiling briefly at that Beckett murmured, "Did you want me to do more?"

"I don't know," Castle exhaled against her shoulder. "I don't think it would… would work," he said, faltering as she suddenly moved her legs which had been both wrapped around his legs to both high up above his waist. His slow push into her made him feel her almost tightly compacted against him and he hissed out his breath the next time he did that. "You're going to kill me," he managed to say without pausing or hesitating.

"No more than you're going to do the same to me," Beckett replied in so much of a rush she wasn't sure she made that much sense. But when he didn't question her she turned her focus back onto him inside of her, her change in position affecting her as well. She loved the fact that even though her hips were flat on the bed, his penetration was still deep and still pleasurable. She ran her hand over the back of his head as she moved to whisper into his ear, "You still make me want to fucking come right now."

Swallowing hard at her tone Castle then replied, his voice deeper at the added arousal that provided, "Even though I'm taking you so slow…" He tried to speak then but it became a fight to try to be able to keep his voice steady doing that before he could tell her, "I'm trying Kate-"

"Oh god this isn't just about me," Beckett said, hoping she didn't sound exasperated with that as she wasn't. "You don't need to…" she began before he was stopping them both. "Rick," she protested, her voice sharp with her interrupted delight.

Castle didn't respond to her, instead he moved them both after he'd withdrawn from her body until she was on her knees in the middle of the bed. He came up to her from behind and muttered into her ear, "Just this," before he thrust into her, hard. As her head tilted back against his shoulder at the sensation of him parting her sex instantly he grabbed her body to hold it against his as hard as he could, feeling them both moving together at nearly the same time. He was suddenly repeating the word yes before he caught himself doing that and then told her, "I want you… I don't care if we don't leave this bed until we go home. I just want to f… feel you like this my love."

Beckett didn't blame him for his slight stutter, even though they were still going at a more sedate pace than when they were rough, he was moving harder than when they'd started and it affected her as much as him. "Neither do I but…" she started to say before she bit her lower lip. She wanted to continue that but all of a sudden her husband was reaching up, cupping her breasts and starting to stroke them before he played a little with her nipples. Considering the fact that her husband knew exactly how she liked him to do that she had to wonder at the fact that she wasn't breaking down completely and begging him to make her orgasm again. But finally the onslaught of pleasure stopped and she had a second to breathe out in relief before he was moving her to lie on her back again. "I want you too Rick as many times-" she began before being cut off by him entering her again. "As many times as you can," she ended on a soft cry as he was reaching down to her left knee and raising her leg by supporting the back of the joint.

Taking his wife's lips then Castle kissed her as hard as he could, not holding anything back at that point. He was relieved when he felt her responding to him at the same time and then he carefully pulled away when he felt they were going to need some air. Pressing his forehead to hers he murmured something in Irish to her before she was nodding rapidly. He would have smiled but the continuous pleasure of her sex working with him, moving with him, was too much to try to and work through. He let go of her leg rapidly, wondering for the moment why she was okay with him doing that before a second later he had his answer as she was wrapping her legs tightly around his waist. He breathed out hard before he reached her chest and then lowered his head to start suckling at her breasts.

Arching her back against him then Beckett was a little shocked at herself when her climax struck her as hard and as unexpected as it did then. But that didn't mean it was no less of a joy than others he'd had her experience, the ecstasy literally running through her veins and making her break their rhythm together. She could feel Castle suddenly reaching his peak a few seconds after her; making her dig her nails into his shoulders in response as it nearly set her off again. But they were able to go through their pleasure together until she nearly started to stop moving.

"Not yet," Castle told her quickly. "More my love."

With the intensity in her husband's eyes then, and what looked to be his utter desire for her, Beckett couldn't say no to him. And she didn't, starting up her thrusting against him again, their hips lightly meeting as they were keeping things slow still. She wasn't sure if she would be able to reach a second climax so soon after the first but as soon as she thought that her husband's hand was drifting down in between them. A gasp shot out of her mouth and echoed against the glass windows and walls as his fingers were seeking her clit and her moan of his name nearly seemed unending. But she thought her heartbeat in her ears must have taken over as she was soon almost screaming his name, letting that signal her orgasm since she knew no one but Castle would hear her. She had no idea how she managed to push him over the edge too but she knew something had worked as he was thrusting harder and faster within her as her name kept leaving his lips. She was gasping for air when she finally came down from her high, her body throbbing in the aftermath of her ecstasy as she watched him take her roughly a few more thrusts before he stopped and collapsed against her.

"Sorry," Castle groaned, in case he might have hurt her falling on top of her.

"Trust me, I'm fine," Beckett said, sighing in pleasure as he seemed to still be twitching a little within her still. She held onto him tightly, stroking the back of his head before she told him, "I love you Rick."

"I love you Kate," Castle hurried to say as he pushed himself up above her to kiss her.

As soon as they'd parted Beckett let him go and then remembered something that had been troubling her before they'd begun making love and earlier that day. "Can you tell me something love?" she asked him as he was up on his knees next to her.

Since his wife had placed her hand on his leg, Castle stayed where he was and asked, "What?"

Sitting up quickly Beckett got onto her own knees and wrapping her arms around him said, "What's wrong?"

When he saw the concern in her eyes, and could somehow tell from her tone that she wasn't going to take no for an answer, Castle sighed and knew he had to tell her. But as he was thinking of a way to word what to say he realized that he felt a need to tell her as well; he wanted to tell her. He kissed her briefly on the lips for that then and then spoke, "I worry about my father, about my being like my father."

Knowing immediately what he meant by that Beckett assured him saying, "You don't need to worry, you're both very different men. You both grew up in different circumstances."

"I realize that but Kate my temper…" Castle started to say before she was shaking her head. "No?"

"You've never been abusive, to anyone in your life. Ever," Beckett said, ending with that firmly. "And I know men who are like that; I've never seen that in you."

"I've killed-" Castle started to say.

"Stop Rick, please," Beckett said with a slight tone of pleading in her voice. "You've done that to protect the people you love. You want to keep us safe, that you get in a way from him."

"I'd thought about that," Castle said, looking down then.

"Love, look at me," Beckett said firmly before he glanced up at her.

"I want to make sure you have no regrets," Castle said, his voice a little rough with his emotion and need to make her understand.

"There are none," Beckett said, nuzzling her nose against his before she kissed him. She kept that gentle and careful before pulling back to murmur, "I've never been happier these past six years; I've never been with a man who will worship me, literally."

"That's because they might not have caught on to the fact that you are a goddess," Castle said.

"Pure sex?" Beckett asked.

"That and a lot more; and my life," Castle said.

It felt like the atmosphere between the two of them changed with a snap and Beckett was reacting instantly to the husky timbre of his voice. She then murmured to him, "This is why you're not like your father or your grandfather. You want me and to love me… and not just for tonight."

"I know I just want to know this is what you want," Castle said, helping her lay down then as he followed her.

"It is, you're my soul," Beckett said, smiling when he nearly gulped audibly and she drew him the rest of the way down to her lips, kissing him deeply. When they parted she murmured against his lips, "And my lover." She had been expecting to throw him off with that but instead he smirked slightly at her and she was startled before he spoke.

"Is that what you want me to become now?" Castle asked.

Shaking her head, Beckett said, "Everything. I want everything Rick."

"The exact fucking thing I want with you Kate, everything," Castle responded, losing his grin before he leaned down and kissed her as he carefully entered her body.

With their talk exciting them both they were aroused and more than ready to start making love which they did again. They were a little rough that time around and when they reached their climaxes they were filling the room once more with their joy at one another and soon the room fell into silence except for the sound of the ocean waves crashing below on the beach.

Curling up against her husband's side some time later when they'd recovered Beckett murmured, "Tomorrow love."

"Tomorrow Kate," Castle said in a promise as he held his wife tightly against him before they both fell asleep almost instantly.

The satiety in their activities was high then and it led to Castle and Beckett experiencing it again in some way within their dreams. They wouldn't remember what they were about but it was enough to last as they slept deeply and peacefully while outside the waves continued to break over the sand.


	14. When The Sun Is Out

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The title of this chapter is a lyric from the song Good Day Sunshine by The Beatles, from their album Beatles for Sale.

Running his lips over the top of his wife's shoulder Castle said, "I had been wondering how long it was going to take you to bring me here."

Beckett glanced back at him and said, "As opposed to how long until you brought me?"

"What makes you think I would do that?" Castle asked in mock incredulity. He could sense that she was rolling her eyes at that, since he couldn't see her face, and he pulled her back closer against him. It was the morning of the next day and Beckett had woken him up, pulling him to the sunken tub in the bathroom as soon as he was sufficiently roused. They had made love there and were relaxing together in the lukewarm water, watching outside. "So what's the plan for today?" he asked her after he'd kissed the junction of her neck and collarbone.

"What time is our reservation?" Beckett asked him.

"Six thirty," Castle replied.

"Well it's a little late now," Beckett replied. "So I think we're going to need to just stay on the beach. Did you find something to do while we were walking around?"

"Not really," Castle said, shaking his head. "I'm just wondering if you had any ideas."

"Is this your way of working in us coming back to the room?" Beckett asked him teasingly.

"No," Castle said so firmly he wasn't surprised when his wife turned to him the best she could.

"Really," Beckett said, studying him. "Once was enough."

Smiling briefly at that as he knew she wasn't serious in that question, Castle leaned over and kissed her gently before he leaned back. "No but I don't think I'll need to find a reason to come back when I know we have tonight."

"You're presumptuous," Beckett told him.

"I know you," Castle said. "And I can easily make you want me if you don't feel like it later."

"And now you're cocky," Beckett said slowly though she was struggling not to smile at that. "But you may be right."

"Then I'm looking forward to seeing if I will be," Castle told her before she leaned back against him again, wrapping both his arms around her.

Beckett didn't reply to that but as she could feel her husband's fingertips brushing against her shoulder she smiled and said, "Or else we can stay here until dinner."

"No we'll get out… not yet but soon," Castle said. He then started to shake as he tried to keep his laughter in and then said, "Sorry, go ahead," as he reluctantly let her go.

Beckett turned and kissed him gently on the lips before she stepped out of the tub, not surprised at all that he stayed in the water. "I have definitely…" she began, trailing off as she was drying herself. "Married a voyeur."

"Not a pervert," Castle said, moving to sit on his knees so he could watch her more easily.

"That too but a voyeur first off," Beckett told him, smiling as she put her towel around herself. She took as much time as she could in doing that to taunt him a little with her body, knowing it was working with the way he stared at her intently. When she heard the sound of moving water she looked up and smiled as he was nearly clambering out of the tub saying, "So that was enough to get you out."

"It looks like it," Castle told her seriously before he wrapped his arms around her.

With the huskier timbre of his voice Beckett was fairly well prepared for the kiss that her husband pressed to her lips. She responded rapidly and held onto his neck for as long as she could until they had to pull away. "Hurry," she said, touching his cheek.

Sighing Castle dried off as she waited and then went over to the sinks where he waited for her to sit between them. "You know you're tall enough to not need to do that," he commented as he waited for the water to heat up before he washed his face.

"Oh I realize that but I find it allows me to work better," Beckett told him with a slight smile as she watched him lather his face before turning to her. She already had his razor in hand and once he was in front of her she proceeded to shave him, careful as she ran the blade over his skin.

Castle was sure that his wife was aware of what was happening to him as she worked but didn't say a word as she seemed to be unaffected by the fact that his growing arousal was pressing against her leg. "Kate," he started to say when she pulled away.

"That's about all I can do," Beckett told him simply. "Later, I promise," she said, as she had been able to tell he'd been growing aroused. She kissed his cheek on a clear path of skin and then got off the counter to wash her hands quickly as he finished with the skin above his upper lip.

Rubbing lotion over his skin Castle then looked over at his wife, seeing she was leaning against the counter watching him. "Waiting for me?" he asked her.

"Come on," Beckett said, rolling her eyes as he'd been pretending to sound surprised. When they were out in the bedroom she took off her towel, setting it on the bed before she grabbed her bikini. She slipped it on and then looked to Castle, seeing that he was ready while she was still grabbing her cover up sundress. "So," she started to say.  
"Yeah it's tempting," Castle told her seriously as they both glanced at the bed. He was relieved when she nodded in agreement and he said, "It's almost eleven thirty."

"Do you want to just have a quick snack before we go down to the beach?" Beckett asked him as he took her hand and led her to the door.

"We could just eat brunch," Castle suggested.

"I think we should," Beckett said. When they reached the bottom of the stairs she went to where she'd put her sandals the night before, slipping them onto her feet once they were on the floor. "We could do the same tomorrow."

"Except we have no idea when Skye and Mary are arriving," Castle replied. When his wife nodded in agreement to that he said, "We should probably call them, check and see if maybe now they know when they'll head down."

"Unlikely," Beckett replied. "If they're spending time with their daughters in the morning it'll probably be later so we could do this still," she told him as they walked up to the street. They were hand in hand as they walked and she squeezed his as they headed down the street back to the café where they'd gotten dinner the night before.

Since it was still early the two were able to order and sit down with their food quickly and as they were starting to eat Castle said, "So Eliza's finished with school."

"She is," Beckett replied with a smile as she realized he was right. "But she's still in preschool."

"And…" Castle said, glancing at his watch the same time he was taking a sip of his coffee. "Wow, this coffee is great. Julia's finished too; our oldest is now a fifth grader."

Smiling again at that, Beckett said, "I hope she'll enjoy it."

"You didn't?" Castle asked her.

"I did, you know how she is at the start of the year," Beckett replied.

"Takes her a little to get used to it," Castle said. "Think it's a lingering thing from her childhood?"

"It is," Beckett said with a nod, wondering why they hadn't discussed that about Julia before. "But she's doing better than when she was younger."

"I'll agree with you there," Castle said, watching her bite into her croissant. "Eliza seems to take after…"

"Were you shy?" Beckett asked since their youngest was but not to the same degree her sister had been.

"I think so," Castle said.

Since her husband was looking at her questioningly Beckett told him, "I was too, so both of us."

Castle smiled and said, "We could call them right now if we wanted to. Well not this second I know that's impossible but back at the house we could."

"They might be going straight to the beach or pool once Julia gets picked up," Beckett replied though she had set down her cup of coffee to text her father.

"How do you like it?" Castle asked. When she looked at him he said quickly, "The coffee."

"I'll agree with what you said about it, I see why they call it the best in the town," Beckett answered before she got a responding text from her father. "Yeah, Alexis and Eliza went to get her and they're already dressed for the beach."

"Eliza's going to be exhausted tonight," Castle said, smiling at that. "At least in that way we'll be doing something similar. Both on a beach."

Beckett nodded to that, since she could sense his missing their daughters with his tone, and she reached across the table squeezing his hand for a moment before they went back to their food. When they were nearly finished she said, "Is this going to be enough for you?"

"You know I've spent hours on the beach with you at home," Castle told her simply. "Or is it because we're on a different beach that you're asking?"

"That," Beckett said with a nod.

Thinking for a moment, Castle said, "It doesn't matter, I just want to spend the day with you love." He then turned his head to the side and muttered playfully, "While you're in your bikini," not surprised when his wife punched him on the shoulder. "What?"

"Pervert," Beckett said simply. She wasn't surprised when he reached for her hand then, squeezing it gently before she leaned over to share a brief kiss with him. Since they'd finished by then she got down from her chair at the same time he did and they left, going back down the street as she looped her arm through his, holding onto the top of it.

"Going to take your camera?" Castle asked as they neared the street they needed to turn on.

"I'm not sure," Beckett told him. "I'd be worried about it getting stolen; it's hard to hide it."

"True," Castle said. "But what I can do is take it back upstairs when you're done with it."

"You'd do that for me?" Beckett said with a smile. At his nod she leaned against him and said, "I'll see when we're ready to go down to the water."

"Then what about my phone?" Castle asked.

"You want to send them pictures?" Beckett asked him knowingly.

"I would love to," Castle said. "That does make me a good father right?" When his wife sighed he leaned over and kissed her saying, "Which means you love me more for it, you don't have to say." He had to laugh when she pinched his side as they'd reached the gate by then and he waited for her to unlock it before following her inside. "What about the paddleboards?"

"We'll come back up for those but let's leave them-" Beckett started to say.

"On that landing closest to the gate," Castle finished for her. "Great, that's where I'll set my phone. You're giving me the key right."

"Yes," Beckett said with a smile as she knew already she'd be giving it to him.

Grabbing the boards Castle and Beckett got their towels and also an umbrella they found with the boards. They headed down the stairs, having to do so carefully as it was a little awkward going down with the boards in hand. But they left them on the bench on the lower landing and then proceeded to the beach.

"Okay picture one," Castle told his wife once their things were set out.

Looking at him Beckett let him pull her to his side as they faced away from the beach. She smiled before he took the picture and watched him text it to Alexis and her father. "Thank you for including him," she told him.

"I'm sure he'd like to see," Castle replied. "Right?" he asked, looking at her.

"He will," Beckett said before the sound alert on his phone for texts played.

"A picture with this one," Castle said, showing it to her.

Smiling as she saw it was of their daughters standing in the breaking waves on the beach with their arms around each other, Beckett told him, "We'll have to have a day with them there, before we leave."

"I agree," Castle replied before he stood up. "I'll be back."

With a nod Beckett watched him head back to the gate up to the house and then turned to the water, watching the waves. She looked at a surfboarder trying to take a wave and noticed that it was a little small and the man wasn't able to go that far. When her husband sat next to her she looked at him and said, "I think I figured out why more of the surfers were over towards that lifeguard tower."

Looking to the waves in front of them then, Castle then realized what she meant and nodded saying, "Baby waves; will be great for you."

"What makes you think I even want to learn to surf?" Beckett asked him.

"The fact you know how to snowboard," Castle said. "I've heard it helps… a little."

"Key words being a little," Beckett replied. She then smiled and said, "I'll give it a shot, I think I would prefer to paddleboard more."

Glancing back to the water then Castle watched some pelicans fly by in front of them and he said, "Sunscreen?" as he wanted to get to the water.

"Sure," Beckett said, reaching over to the bag they'd brought down. She sprayed herself before sitting back down and letting him get the sunscreen onto her back and did the same for him before she waited for him to finish until she stood back up. As they were nearing the water she told him, "It's going to be cold."

"Oh I'm aware of that," Castle replied. "I need to take you back to Tahiti."

"For what? The warmer water?" Beckett asked with a smile as they stopped where the waves were foaming on the sand. She shivered slightly as the water was cold even there and said, "Or just because you want a vacation like this."

"Not for a while," Castle told her simply. He glanced around and then ahead of them before he turned to her. Seeing that his wife was watching him with her brow slightly furrowed; from trying to figure out why he was doing that he knew; he then grabbed her and lifted her up before running into the water.

With a short cry Beckett didn't have a chance to get out of his hold before they were plunging into the water and submerging underneath it. The second she was standing up she was pushing him backwards saying, "You never stop doing that," though she was laughing more than annoyed.

"Because it's fun to see your reaction to it," Castle replied before he walked to her and kissed her gently on the lips. "You got used to the water though, with that."

Shaking her head Beckett rolled her eyes before she went under the next wave, coming out to her husband doing the same next to her. "Looks like you got used to it too," she said with a smile.

"That's why I like to do that," Castle replied simply. When his wife ducked under the water he followed her again and swam after her further from the shore. Surfacing he watched her and in that moment he was suddenly recalling the last time they'd been in Tahiti. Spurred on by that he pulled her to him and kissed her before murmuring, "Would you be surprised if we didn't wait until tonight?"

"No you're remembering Tahiti aren't you?" Beckett asked. "Since you asked me the same thing all the times we went there."

"I did, I saw you a lot in the water just like this," Castle replied. "Déjà vu."

"Let's go back," Beckett replied.

"What about those rocks?" Castle asked her. When she nodded he was quick to go after her before they stopped in front of them, having to let the waves take them to shore. "Okay, maybe I should have thought more about that," he told her.

"We forgot yesterday," Beckett assured him as they started to walk back to where their things were. "The tide was pretty strong yesterday."

Castle nodded at that and then took her hand, pulling her to him before he leaned over and kissed her temple. As they were walking he had that sense of déjà vu again as they'd done the same in Tahiti.

"I wonder," Beckett commented, looking at him.

"What?" Castle asked, turning to her.

Smiling Beckett said, "First if you'd hear me and second if you're going to keep thinking of that."

"Those," Castle corrected her. When she glanced at him in slight confusion he told her, "Both trips. And eventually I'll stop." She laughed at that and he asked, "Was it the eventually part of it?"

"Yeah," Beckett said before they reached the gate to the beach house. She led the way up to the landing where the boards were and grabbed one and a paddle before she headed back with her husband following her.

Once they were back in the water, their boards floating next to them, Castle asked, "So we just hop on and get started."

"If you want to hop I'd love to see that," Beckett said, glancing at him.

"Okay, then climb on," Castle said.

"I think that's how you're supposed to," Beckett replied, unable to help smiling at his quick correction of what he'd said.

Looking at the board and wondering for a moment what would be the best way to get on top Castle finally did what he'd seen a surfboarder do and slid on it. Pushing the board a little under the water was a big help and he was soon on his knees. Glancing at his wife, he said, "So now comes the standing part."

"I'm going first I would assume with your tone of voice," Beckett said before she got up. "And so you know," she said, speaking as she was careful to watch her balance. "Just because I snowboard doesn't mean I'll be able to get this right away."

"Still I think you'll get this faster than me," Castle said. He watched the way she positioned her feet and tried to go as fast as he could to join her since she had to start paddling.

Beckett glanced back over her shoulder quickly at her husband and wasn't too surprised when he fell off as he was trying to adjust his feet. "Don't turn them so fast," she called out to him.

Waving to indicate that he'd heard her Castle was quick to get back up and try again. That time he was able to stand and he found rowing helped him retain his balance since he could feel where it needed to be. "So this isn't too bad," he said when he'd managed to catch up with his wife and they rowed out further.

"No but how far is too far?" Beckett said, glancing back with him at the same time to the shore.

"Well, if we start seeing fins, that's too far," Castle said. "The pointed kind."

"Pointed?" Beckett said, not even trying to fight her smile at that.

"Yep, dolphins aren't so-" Castle started to say.

"I know," Beckett said with a laugh. Dipping her paddle back into the water she said, "Think we should get these back at home?"

"I was just thinking that," Castle told her. "And yes, we should, it would be fun to take the girls on this," he said as he nodded to the space on the board in front of him. "Though with their vests on of course."

"Julia would not like that," Beckett stated, a small smile on her face. She then said, "I'm surprised they've never asked us for those."

"They've never been on them though David and Rebecca have used theirs when they're with us," Castle said. "But you're right, it's weird."

"Maybe it's one of those the parents have to bring the subject up things," Beckett said.

"Still bizarre, kids usually don't have those," Castle commented.

"We raised our daughters to be… a little more considerate," Beckett said before she paused.

"Far enough?" Castle asked as he knew why she'd done that.

"I think so," Beckett said. "Do you think you can sit?"

"Turn around and sit?" Castle asked her. When she nodded he breathed out a little hard and said, "Well I can attempt it."

"You can get back up but you know I'm worried about those pointed fins," Beckett said as she was sitting down carefully after she'd gotten her board turned around. She laughed when her husband splashed her with his paddle before she watched him slowly get down. "That was good… and it only took a half hour," she told him teasingly.

"Yeah, well, taller means my balance needs a little more work," Castle told her. He looked around as the beginning waves were starting to push them back to shore and said, "This might take a half hour."

"Still, it's something different to do," Beckett told him.

"You got tired of swimming already?" Castle asked her as he had to put his paddle in the water to make sure he didn't drift away from her.

"No but I can't see us swimming back and forth until four," Beckett replied.

"You need two and a half hours to get ready?" Castle asked in surprise.

"We need to call the girls," Beckett reminded him. "At that point they should be finished with dinner."

"I forgot," Castle said. "Not about them, just the call."

"I know," Beckett said. She saw his gaze on her suddenly change and she smiled a little saying, "What?"

"No just remembering walking back to our things," Castle said. "A lot of burly guys all greased up staring at you."

Beckett gave him a look and said, "Burly? Greased up? Did we end up in Italy during the Roman Empire?"

"You saw them," Castle said.

"Rick, you're jealous," Beckett said, being careful not to sound teasing in her tone. "Which you shouldn't be."

Seeing her gaze going down to his body, Castle said, "That they didn't expect I bet."

"Probably not," Beckett said in a laugh.

"Or you hanging onto me as we were walking," Castle said.

"Neither were the women," Beckett replied.

"Ah, I'd say you were jealous too but… yes, you'd splash me," Castle ended with when his wife did so to him. "Okay so let's just say there are people that are also attractive on the beach but-"

"But we're planning a quick trip back up to the house for… supplies," Beckett said.

Before he could respond to that and the fact that his wife's voice was heavily seductive in tone, Castle watched her start rowing to the point where the waves were cresting. He'd been able to tell that she was serious so he hurried after her, jumping off the board when the water was waist deep and following her up the stairs after she'd grabbed their bag from their towels.

Beckett was already on her way up to the second landing when she heard the clatter of one of the boards and she looked back to see it was her husband. She stopped and waited, a slight smile on her face as he was fumbling a little with the paddleboard before he propped it up against the other side of the bench.

"What?" Castle asked when he turned to go up and saw his wife watching him.

"Nothing," Beckett said before she reached down and took his hand, pulling him up after her.

Before she could turn to go up the steps leading to the deck Castle pulled her back against the side of the house where he saw there was a shower, turning it on. He stepped up to her as she'd gone under the water and he leaned down, kissing her deeply as she wrapped her arms around him.

A little unsure how long they were under the water, Beckett only knew that she was breathless from their kiss as she reached behind her to turn the shower off. "How are we getting in?" she told him as they were both dripping wet.

"Luckily the towels are still in the bag," Castle replied, going to where he'd thrown it by the stairs. He handed his wife one before taking the other, watching her drying herself off.

Beckett didn't say a word to him once they were going up to the deck, her towel wrapped around her waist. She merely took his hand, pulling him up the stairs to the foyer and then again to the staircase up to the second floor.

"A lot of stairs here," Castle couldn't help comment as they entered the bedroom.

"We'll get a lot of exercise," Beckett said.

"More so now," Castle said, wrapping his arm around her while the other pulled off her towel before they fell back together on the bed.

Their lovemaking that time was a little rougher than it'd been that morning and Castle and Beckett completely forgot their plans to spend more time on the beach as they were pleasantly distracted by each other. When they'd stopped they lay side by side on the bed, not saying a word and just enjoying the warmth the afternoon sun was providing and the feel of their naked bodies pressed together.

"I seriously didn't plan on this," Castle said.

Smiling before she slowly opened her eyes, Beckett told him, "I know but when we're alone together it tends to happen." She then turned her head to look at him and told him in mock seriousness, "Are you afraid of wanting me that much?"

"Vixen," Castle breathed as he could see what she was trying to do with her tone. "And no, are you?"

Beckett laughed softly at that and then sat up saying, "I have a hard time believing we just left everything down there."

"You heard what Skye and Mary told us," Castle reminded her. "People leave their stuff all the time, just nothing big."

"Like a phone," Beckett told him.

"I grabbed it," Castle said, reaching into the waterproof pocket in his trunks and pulling it out. He held his other arm out for her as she moved to him and wrapped it around her before he checked to see if he'd gotten anything. "Nope, they're fine. Still swimming…"

"I think my dad's getting dinner," Beckett replied.

"They could be going out," Castle said as the time back at home was nearly five. "Your dad with his granddaughters." He looked thoughtful for a moment and then asked her, "He really considers her his granddaughter too."

"I told you, Alexis is Julia and Eliza's big sister so he'd have a hard time ignoring that fact," Beckett said. "She is his step-granddaughter."

"Yeah," Castle said contemplatively. When his wife asked him what he was thinking about he told her, "There are times I wish I'd had a dad like him. You're lucky."

"I know," Beckett said, embracing him the best she could with the way they were laying down. "So," she said, turning onto her back. "Do we stay here or go down?"

"We should go down," Castle said, sitting up. When he saw the knowing looking on his wife's face he asked, "What now?"

"You're afraid if we do this anymore I'm not going to want tonight," Beckett said in amusement.

"It's just I don't want you thinking this is all I wanted," Castle replied swiftly.

"And I don't," Beckett said. "Plus with Skye and Mary here tomorrow…"

"We can take all night," Castle said, nearly blurting that out though she was tempting him greatly.

Beckett was going to reply to that when she paused and then smiled after thinking that over. "Alright," she said simply before she leaned over and kissed him.

Watching her sit up, Castle said, "You don't mind that?" When she looked back at him a little incredulously, he said, "Just checking."

"Come on," Beckett said, shaking her head though she was smiling again.

Getting off the bed took a little longer than either had expected as they found themselves kissing a few times before they finally tore away from one another and went to where they'd discarded their clothes on top of the towels on the floor.

Castle helped his wife get dressed though all he did was fix the back of her bikini top before he let his fingers trail down her spine.

"You said tonight Rick," Beckett told him teasingly as she turned to him to watch him pull on his trunks.

"Oh so we're on a no touching policy until then?" Castle asked. "Might make things difficult."

"You know, I wonder what would happen if we tried that," Beckett said musingly as they went out to the stairs.

"Tried not to touch each other?" Castle replied. When she nodded he snorted and said, "It would never work."

"Probably not," Beckett agreed. Back outside on the deck she followed him down to the lower landing where the boards still were and she said, "One more time?"

"Sure," Castle said. "And I really think we should get these for home."

"We will, you know there's a shop that has them," Beckett replied as they went down together to the gate. As they were getting back onto their boards; after dropping off their towels and bag on the blanket still with the umbrella; she couldn't help wonder about their daughters, wondering what they were doing at that moment before she and Castle were soon heading back into the water.

* * *

"Wanna go," Eliza said to her grandfather.

"Not until tomorrow," Jim said as he tied the sash on her sundress for her. "By the time we get home from dinner it'll be dark."

"Yeah, especially if we play the games there," Julia said.

"Can I play?" Eliza asked hopefully.

"If you stay still at dinner and eat," Jim replied. "Which I'm sure you two will. Is your sister ready?"

"I am," Alexis answered before Eliza or Julia could reply to that.

"You don't think Mommy will be mad we're going here do you?" Julia asked as she hurried over to her big sister and took her hand.

"She can be mad at me if she wants," Jim said, picking up Eliza and carrying her after the others who were going downstairs. "Since I'm treating you all to a celebratory dinner."

"You think she would be though?" Alexis asked.

"No," Jim said, shaking his head. "If I took you all week for dinner then she would be." Once he helped Eliza with her shoes he went after the three sisters to the garage where he watched Julia feed the dog its dinner.

"You get an early dinner Macca," the little girl told it seriously. "So you get to celebrate too."

"Let him eat Julia," Alexis called to her.

"Sorry, I had to tell him," the little girl said as she hurried over to the car where Eliza was already set. "Oh, I'm so excited now it's summer. I hope Mommy and Daddy are too."

"I think they are," Jim said as he was going down the driveway. "You know they've been looking forward to the trip."

"A lot," Julia said with a nod. She was quiet for a moment and then said as her grandfather was parking near the pizza parlor, "What about this weekend?"

"He'll know," Alexis replied. "So you don't have to worry."

"I feel bad," Julia confessed.

"It's okay," Jim said a little absently as he was helping Eliza out of her car seat. "I just want you two to have fun."

"We will," Alexis said as Julia still looked doubtful. "But for now why don't we enjoy dinner and the end of school?"

"You finished before us though," Julia replied with a smile as she was holding her hand walking into the restaurant.

"That doesn't mean I won't enjoy it," Alexis said simply.

Inside they sat down together at a table and as soon as they had Eliza was peering over at the claw game, looking at the stuffed animals available inside it. She glanced back at her grandfather and when she saw that he was watching her she giggled telling him, "Just to see Grandpapa."

"We'll take a better look after," Julia said before a worker came over to get their drink and pizza orders. She then looked around and said, "Look they're showing the World Cup."

"That's the qualifying game, one of them," Alexis corrected her. She turned to Jim and asked, "Do you know when Ireland plays once it starts?"

"I think on the twentieth at… two," he replied, having to think about that for a moment. "At two, I had to remember the time," Jim added with a smile. "You're rooting for Ireland."

"And England… Spain too I think," Alexis replied. "But I think my dad and Kate are hoping for Ireland to get through the first stage?"

"Stage," Jim said, nodding in response to her question. "And I am too." He had to stop then as their pizzas were coming out and he helped Eliza with hers since she was sitting next to him on a booster seat.

The toddler was trying to pick the tomato off of her slice when her grandfather stopped her and she asked, "Mommy and Daddy get pizza too?"

"I don't think so," Alexis said as Julia was looking at her to answer that question. "Dad mentioned something about reservations last time I talked to him so I think they're going out."

"Oh good," Julia said happily in response. "They're gonna dress up and then have fun together. Maybe they'll dance too," she added.

"We'll have to ask them tomorrow when we call them," Jim said. "You like when they go out to dance?"

"Yeah, 'cause Mommy doesn't want to learn to dance like I do but when they go to dance they're still dancing together," Julia said. She then added rapidly, "I know they don't dance with other people they don't know too."

"Did Dad tell you that?" Alexis asked in amusement.

"They both did," Julia replied with a smile. "If they know someone they'll dance with them but if they don't they stay together the whole time."

"Why?" Eliza asked.

"'Cause they're in love," Julia said firmly. When her little sister giggled she was surprised, realizing the toddler had asked that so she could say it and that Eliza had already known the answer.

"I think you're right," Jim said, smiling at his youngest granddaughter. "But since they're probably still on the beach we should turn our attention to our dinner here now."

After she'd finished her first slice Julia said, "How long can we play the games?" directing the question to both her grandfather and big sister.

"You're not even close to finishing eating and you're asking that already," Jim said.

"Yeah, I wanna know," Julia said, pretending to sound determined. She then laughed when her grandfather smiled and said, "Just wondering."

"I know and we'll see how much we can get done with five dollars," Jim said.

"Ooh, that's lots," Eliza said.

"That's two dollars and…" Julia started to say before she tried to figure it out in her head. "Fifty cents right? For us both?"

"Good job," Alexis replied. "And it is."

"Wait, are you gonna play?" Julia then asked. "I don't think I can figure out how to do it for three people without real quarters."

"I think I'll do what Jim does, play with you if you want me to," Alexis answered.

"Oh good and yes we do want you to," Julia said before she realized what her sister had said. "See? Even Lizzy wants you to," she added as Eliza nodded.

"I will but after we eat," Alexis urged the little girl as she still hadn't touched her second slice of pizza.

Though she wanted to say more Julia nodded and went back to eating though she found herself more and more impatient to start playing the games. Watching her little sister she soon was able to tell that she was feeling the same way too and she smiled over at her before they were finishing. Setting down her empty cup she asked, "Now?"

"Yes," Jim said. "And thank you."

"Why Grandpapa?" Eliza asked.

"Because you listened to me and ate," Jim replied, helping her down. He led the toddler over to the games and got quarters for them before splitting them between him and Alexis. "Do you want us to go together?" he then asked the girls who were watching him.

"Come play Grandpapa," Eliza cried, taking his hand and pulling him over to the claw game.

"Over here," Julia told her sister when they were left alone, leading the way to the skeeball games. "You know Daddy doesn't like these too much," she said as they waited for the game to start up.

"I do but he's not too bad," Alexis said. "But I think it's because I'm a little better… and your mom is too isn't she?"

"A little. But Daddy's better than me and Eliza," Julia insisted.

"Why don't I take a picture of you?" Alexis said then. When her sister nodded she took her camera from her pocket and waited until Julia was throwing the first ball, managing to get a shot of that moment. She quickly sent it to her father's phone and said, "He might not get it if he and your mom are out in the water."

"He'll see it," Julia said firmly. "When he goes back to it. Help me now?"

"Of course," Alexis replied.

When they'd played that game a few times Julia led the way to the whack-a-mole game and there she played on her own. She smiled as she looked up at her sister who was holding her phone up and said, "You got pictures?"

"One," Alexis said, looking over as Jim was walking to them with Eliza in his arms. "What's wrong?" she asked, realizing the toddler was sniffing.

"She was a little upset we couldn't get something in the claw game," Jim said.

"She thinks it's jail," Julia was quick to explain for her sister. "She wants to get them out."

"Here," Alexis replied, taking Eliza from him. "I felt the exact same way you know."

"You did?" the toddler asked, rubbing her cheek.

"Yep but Dad told me they're there until someone takes them home," Alexis said. "So they're just waiting."

"Oh," Eliza said thoughtfully. "I hope they go home soon."

"Me too," Alexis said, kissing her temple. "You want to play some more?"

"Play this one Lizzy," Julia told her sister encouragingly. "It's really fun and I can help you."

After a moment of what seemed to be consideration Eliza nodded and Alexis put her down before she went to Julia. She then said, "I remember to play."

"I know I just wanted you to play with me," Julia told her, hugging her quickly. "Take this," she said, handing her the mallet. "Ready?"

Nodding, Eliza started to try and hit the animals popping up when her sister covered her hands and led her around as they struck at them. When they finished she looked at the numbers and asked, "Did we do good?" since she couldn't read them.

"You did nicely," Jim answered. "You both still have quarters left?"

"A little bit," Julia said, looking at them on Alexis' palm. "There are six."

"Okay then why don't we play together?" Jim asked.

"You take three and we take the rest," Julia then suggested.

"We'd rather see you two playing," Alexis said to her. "So go ahead and pick what you want to do now."

"I think she wants to play that one," Julia said with a smile as her sister ran over to the skeeball.

"Looks like it," Alexis replied as Jim went after her first.

With the rest of the quarters that they had the family played the skeeball game together until they ran out of money. They headed back to the car after that and Jim drove them home.

"Did Mommy or Daddy text us yet?" Julia asked Alexis as they were greeted by Macca in the garage once they were out of the car.

"Not yet," Alexis replied before she turned to Beckett's father. "I think I'm going to take them to the beach to look for shells for a while. At least until they're ready to talk to us."

"I'll join you," Jim replied.

"You will?" Julia asked eagerly, her little sister echoing her.

"I will," Jim said, amusement tingeing his voice. "You wanted me to go?"

"So you can look too Grandpapa," Eliza said matter of factly.

"Then we should go ahead and go before we have to come back inside," Jim said before he leaned down and picked the toddler up as she was hugging him tightly. He carried her outside after Alexis and Julia and took her to the white chairs where the three girls got their shoes off so they could go down to the sand.

Hurrying down to the shells that were at the foaming edge of the waves, Julia said to her sister, "What do we do with these?"

"We can make a sandcastle," Alexis told her as she and Jim caught up with them.

"Please!" Eliza said, gasping in pleasure at the idea.

"After we walk for a little," Jim said as the girls cried out as Macca ran down to them, going over the water and splashing them.

"Nooo Macca!" Eliza protested. "No more baths!"

"You won't have to," Alexis assured her. "As long as you don't go all the way in the water."

"Which you shouldn't," Jim said quickly.

"I know when I have a vest," Eliza told them all seriously. She then looked down at her feet and squealed when she saw a white shell, reaching down to pick it up.

Julia had already started picking up shells by then and she helped her sister get more until their grandfather suggested that they should start making the castle since their parents would call soon. "Are you gonna help?" she asked him.

"If you need me to," Jim said as he watched them kneel in the sand.

With Alexis' help the castle took shape and once they'd sculpted it the three decorated it with shells before Julia and Eliza hurried to grab some sea grass. With that decorating the towers Alexis took some pictures of the two next to the castle with her phone and sent those off to their father.

"Is that them?" Julia asked eagerly as there was a text alert sound right after.

"It is, we better head back in," Alexis answered.

Heading back to the house, Julia said to her little sister, "I can't wait to hear that they did today." When Eliza nodded her head in response she squeezed her hand she was holding as they grabbed their shoes and went to rinse off their sandy feet.

* * *

Standing in the ocean on the board again, Beckett looked over at her husband and smiled saying, "I've thought about it and I think you were right."

"About the boards?" Castle asked, glancing to her.

"About tonight," Beckett corrected him. She smiled when he audibly gulped; knowing he'd done that so she would hear him; and said, "Though I would have been okay with through the day."

"When was the last time we did that?" Castle asked as he watched her turn to go back to the shore.

"A while ago," Beckett replied. "I think last year… in June too."

"That long?" Castle asked.

"When was the last time we had the house to ourselves?" Beckett pointed out.

"Yeah, now I'm remembering," Castle said. "Your dad and my mom took them to his cabin."

"I'm just glad they got along there," Beckett said jokingly.

"For the girls' sakes," Castle said, going along with her humor since they would joke from time to time about their parents not getting along at the beginning of his and Beckett's relationship. "I'm just glad it didn't take the fact that we were married or they became grandparents to Julia to have them do that."

"Me too," Beckett replied before she started to paddle back since he'd been slowly turning. "What took you so long?" she asked him. "Pointed fins?"

"Sure," Castle said. He laughed when his wife splashed him and he said, "Want to swim?"

"I'd love to," Beckett replied. They were silent for a while and she then said, "This was fun."

"It was," Castle replied. "I'm glad we're staying another day… to a certain degree."

"So am I," Beckett said, smiling at him. She then saw that he looked thoughtful and asked, " _What's on your mind love_?"

Smiling at her use of Irish, Castle said, "I'm thinking about them coming over tomorrow. We have to thank them for this."

"Also her father," Beckett replied, switching back to English for that. "Did you think of something for Skye and Mary though?"

"You know me too well," Castle replied, stopping and getting down on the board as his wife was on her knees. "I was thinking dinner tomorrow?"

"And what about breakfast at the place where we've been going on Sunday?" Beckett suggested.

"You've been thinking about that too?" Castle asked with a slight smile that turned up the corner of his mouth. At her nod he said, "I think that's a great idea, hopefully they'll be okay with that… though they should be by themselves after we leave won't they?"

"They'll be alone tonight too," Beckett reminded him as she'd talked with Skye on Castle's phone when they'd gone swimming after going on the boards after their break. "Since their girls are with her dad."

"Almost forgot," Castle replied. "Then we should be good. I'm thinking some Dim Sum and honey chicken?"

"They have a wok?" Beckett asked.

"They do," Castle said, since he'd looked the night before. "So we should head to that market after dinner and I can get the Dim Sum myself since it's down the street." When they got to the waves he said, "Looking forward to tomorrow already."

Beckett couldn't reply to that as they had to go through the waves which pushed them the rest of the way to the shore. When she got off her board, she looked to her side and saw Castle was standing up, wiping off his face. "Wipeout?" she asked.

"As good as one," he replied. "Glad you didn't see that."

"I don't think that takes away anything from your masculinity," Beckett replied as she reached over to him to grab his arm.

While he was pulling the board to him, Castle felt his wife's touch and he turned to her in time for her to pull him down to her lips. He wrapped his free arm around her immediately and tried to ignore the waves pushing at them and trying to tug them back into the water. But the kiss was no less enjoyable with that and when they finally parted he sighed saying, "I think I need to swim."

"You can take your board up, come on," Beckett said, thinking he was kidding about that since they'd just kissed once and not all that deep. She turned to go back to the gate to the house before she glanced to her side, expecting her husband to be there. When he wasn't she glanced to where she'd left him and said, "Really?"

"Yes, really," Castle said, sounding tense. He then started to walk up to her and said, "Sorry but…"

"No, I know you can't control that all the time," Beckett told him before she leaned over and brushed her lips over his cheek. She led the way again and they went up to the lower landing where they dropped off the boards before they went back to the water.

Castle followed his wife underneath an incoming wave and swam as far as he could before he resurfaced and saw that she was next to him. "I'm alright," he told her as he could see the question on her face then.

"I'm just wondering if you want to go out further," Beckett told him.

Since he'd checked the time on his phone before they had come back to the beach, Castle said, "Not too far, we should call them soon."

Nodding at that Beckett started to swim again, smiling when she could feel Castle next to her treading the water too. They went a little bit further before she stopped and then turned to him saying, "One?"

"You're sure?" Castle asked. When she gave him a look he smiled and leaned over, kissing her gently on the lips. Pulling away from her he saw that she was dissatisfied and said, "I'll do better."

" _Tonight_?" Beckett asked.

" _Tonight_ ," Castle agreed with a nod before they turned back together, swimming straight to the shore though they let the waves eventually push them the last bit to the sand.

When they'd reached their things Castle and Beckett discussed going back down to the beach after they'd spoken with their family and stood for a moment, looking back out at the water together.

"We do have tomorrow," Castle finally said.

"That's true," Beckett said with a nod. "So we'll stay up there," she said as she picked up the blanket while he was getting the umbrella out from the sand. When they had everything she led the way back to the lower landing where she waited for him to set the umbrella in its cloth cover on the bench with the boards before they headed up to the shower on the side of the house. As soon as they were beneath the water she wrapped her arms around her husband, kissing him gently.

Castle went along with her as he knew that it was going to be difficult to talk to their daughters if he was aroused. So when they shared a few more quick, slightly gentle kisses he sighed and told her, "If I go out of control tonight-"

"I'll likely be the same," Beckett interrupted him. She smiled as his jaw clenched before he turned off the water and she went to get one of the fresh towels in the bag they'd brought up with them and dried herself off. "There must be something in the way I do this," she eventually commented.

"What?" Castle asked her in confusion.

"Considering the way you're looking at me," Beckett said.

"No comment," Castle said. When she rolled her eyes he smiled before he finished getting himself dried off and then followed her inside when he received a text. "They sent us pictures while we were swimming," he told his wife before showing her the two.

"So they went out tonight," Beckett said when she saw where Julia was in the first one. "I'm not surprised, I'll bet you anything my dad wanted to do that to celebrate the end of school," she said.

"It looks like he's continuing the tradition with them," Castle said. At his wife's nod he texted them that they were ready to speak to him, and he read the responding message to her, " _We'll be ready once we get into the house, I'll let you know_."

"Is this ready?" Beckett asked, nodding to the TV.

"It is," Castle said, going over to check before he turned it on. He got a text from Alexis a little after that and then quickly went to Skype on the screen. "Hey you two," he said as he heard Eliza squeal at seeing him. "How are you doing?"

"All of you?" Beckett then asked.

"I'm good," Julia said first.

"Me too," Eliza said hurriedly after her.

"They are too," Julia said when their sister and grandfather didn't reply and they glanced back at them.

"You can talk with them first," Alexis explained.

"Oh okay," Julia replied. "So do you want to know about how school went?"

"That would be nice," Beckett said, a smile on her face.

Eliza began to tell them after her sister had nudged her in the side slightly and explained what she'd done at school, which was basically art and playing. "I made pictures," she said proudly.

"For anyone?" Castle asked.

"For you and Mommy," Eliza said with a nod. "And Jules and 'lexis and-"

"Everyone?" Beckett interrupted. At Eliza's second more rapid nod she smiled and told her, "Sounds like you had a great day."

"Yeah and then I went home," the toddler said. "Now you say," she told her sister, shaking her arm.

"I'm going to right now," Julia assured her. "So it was like I told you was going to happen yesterday," she said to their parents. "We signed yearbooks and then played before the bell rang."

"So you're a fifth grader now sweetie," Beckett said.

"I know I'm gonna miss Mrs. Watson so much," Julia told her.

"I went through that a lot myself," Castle said.

"Me too," Beckett said with a nod. "It's normal Julia but hopefully you'll have a good teacher next year."

"I hope so too," Julia replied.

"Alexis?" Castle asked as the girls had turned to look back at her.

"Nothing just spent time by the pool until I went with Jim to get Eliza from school," the young woman replied with a shrug. "And we had lunch with her before I sat with her while she took a nap in the family room."

"And then they went to get me," Julia replied. "And we went swimming in the ocean."

"We had a feeling you would," Beckett said. "And you had a lot of fun I'm sure."

Since her mother had been looking at her Eliza nodded rapidly and told her, "Lots. I went in the waves with Grandpapa."

"So you had a great time," Castle said, smiling as the toddler nodded rapidly and giggled at the same time.

"We saw that picture of you playing skeeball Julia," Beckett said. "So you had dinner at the pizza parlor."

"That was my idea Katie," Jim said then.

"I know Dad and don't worry I remember when you would do that with me and Mom on my last day of school," Beckett replied in reassurance. "How did they do though?"

"Yeah I'm interested in hearing that," Castle said.

"They did fine," Alexis answered for Jim.

"They did," he then added with a nod. "Though of course there was talk about the games during the meal but I had expected that."

"Of course," Beckett said, echoing her father as she smiled at the girls looking sheepish; Julia a little more than Eliza. "So tell us, how were the games."

When the two started to talk at the same time Castle quickly said, "Hold on one at a time please!"

Laughing with her sister Julia nodded to Eliza for her to speak before the toddler shook her head and she then said, "I went with Alexis to play skeeball first and I did okay. She played too after she took the picture and did really good. And then after Grandpapa came over with Eliza, she was crying."

"The claw game?" Castle asked. When his father in law nodded he said, "Sweetheart-"

"I know," Eliza interrupted him. "But I want the toys out."

"Someone will take them home," Beckett assured her. "And after that?"

"We finished our quarters playing skeeball," Julia replied. "And then we came home and looked for shells and that's when we made the sandcastle."

"That was a nice looking one," Castle said swiftly. "You did a great job on it."

"'lexis helped too," Eliza said.

"Then you all did a great job," Castle said in reply. "Okay so now what're you going to be doing?"

"Maybe play a game before they go to bed," Alexis said as the girls were turning to her and Jim again.

"Then we should say goodnight," Beckett said.

"You didn't say what you did today!" Julia hurriedly told them.

"Oh well then let me boil it down to this," Castle said. "We got up a little late, went out for brunch, came back and spent up until now at the beach."

"You went to swim?" Eliza asked.

"We did," Beckett replied with a slight smile on her face. "And we also went out on paddleboards."

"Where you stand up?" Julia said. "Like Mari's mom and dad have?"

"That one," Castle said. "And even though I had a little trouble getting on the board the first time we went out pretty far."

"It's not hard to do?" Julia asked.

"If you know how to keep your balance it isn't," Beckett said. "But when we get them at home we'll let you two ride up front with us."

"You're going to get some?" Julia said eagerly, Eliza perking up next to her at that though she knew it was because of her tone.

"We will," Castle replied. "But probably not for a while since we have a lot coming up you know."

"Still, that'll be sooo much fun," Julia told them with a smile. "What about tonight?"

"It's not tonight yet," Castle teased her.

"I know that," Julia said in mock irritation. "When it's night for you."

"We're going to dinner," Beckett said. "Which you knew about already."

"Are you gonna go dancing?" Julia said hopefully.

"Yeah," Eliza added before their parents could say anything.

"Actually we're not," Castle said slowly at first. When Julia and then Eliza made sounds of protest at that he was quick to add, "But we might take a walk on the beach."

"At night?" Eliza asked.

When their father nodded Julia frowned for a moment before she said, "Okay but you should dance."

"Who knows we might dance when we come back here," Beckett pointed out.

"Now do you need to go?" Julia asked.

"I think you two might need to," Beckett told them. "Since it's nearly bedtime for you Eliza."

"But Mommy-" the toddler started to say.

"I think she's right Eliza," Jim said.

At the toddler's heavy sigh Beckett said, "Okay so now we can say goodnight. Eliza, Julia, I love you both okay? Sweet dreams you two."

"Love you too Mommy," Eliza said. "Dance lots," she said firmly.

"I love you Mommy," Julia then said, smiling at her little sister.

"And I love you two Julia, Eliza," Castle said. "And before you say," he told the toddler before she could speak. "We'll dance, probably here outside on the deck but we'll dance."

Giggling heavily, Eliza told him, "Good. I love you Daddy."

"Love you too Daddy," Julia said quickly. "Hope you do dance."

With a smile, Beckett joined her husband in saying goodbye to her father and Alexis before he turned off the TV. "So we're dancing," she said, still smiling as she couldn't help remember their daughters' earnestness.

"I know," Castle said with a laugh. "And… it's almost four-thirty," he said, checking a clock on the wall. "When do you need to get ready?"

"In an hour," Beckett said. When he looked like he was thinking then, she said, "We can rest."

"A nap?" Castle asked a little hesitantly.

"No, just rest," Beckett told him, taking his hand before heading to the stairs.

"Naked resting?" Castle suggested. He wasn't surprised when she looked back at him but became startled when he realized that her expression wasn't a glare. "Kate?" he asked when she let go of his hand. When she took off the top of her bikini he swallowed and then forced himself up the stairs after her in time to see her climbing onto the bed naked. "You're trying to kill me," he said.

Looking at him Beckett smiled as he took off his trunks and got onto the bed with her. As soon as he was lying on his back she leaned over, kissing him deeply on the lips. She felt his reaction in the way that he grabbed her arms and when he held her tightly to him she cupped his cheek with her hand before she parted her lips to his tongue that was sliding across it. She let him take over then as it led to what she had wanted him to do which was flip her onto her back, pressing against her hard.

When they'd finally pulled away from one another Castle said, "I stand by what I said before."

"In this position?" Beckett shot back with a smile. At his nod she leaned up and kissed him before she let go of him and raised her hands above her head as he slid down her body to rest his head on her abdomen. She reached down to him and started to stroke her fingers through his hair. "You still surprise me," she eventually told him after they'd been laying in silence for a while.

"How many times have we been like this and still?" Castle told her, reaching up and taking her hand. He pulled it to his lips, kissing it before he moved to lie on his side next to her, taking her in his arms.

With the sun shining more fully into the room Beckett soon started to feel drowsy from both that and her husband's body against her. She sighed and then felt his lips against her temple before she told him, "You're very tempting you realize."

"I would hope so," Castle said. He then added, "But of course I am." He laughed shortly when she punched him in the ribs and said, "Had to add that."

"I know," Beckett said before she turned and lay on her side while she reached with her right hand, running her fingertips over his collarbone. She nearly fell asleep that time but just as she was she felt her husband jerking against her and she nearly did so herself.

"Were you sleeping?" Castle asked as he looked at her.

"No I was about to though," Beckett said, quickly covering his mouth before he could reply to that. "What about you?"

"Dreamt I was falling," Castle said, rubbing his forehead. When he felt her kissing him on the lips quickly he tried to grab her but when she slipped out of his arms he asked, "It's time."

"It is," Beckett said apologetically. "But I promise you we'll have tonight."

"Dinner and you too?" Castle replied. When his wife merely smirked he shuddered and said, " _Goddess_."

Beckett glanced at him over her shoulder before she got off the bed and went to the closet, grabbing her dress for that night. When he called her name she turned and said, "A request?'

"Wear your hair down," Castle said, sitting on the edge of the bed by then. When his wife only smiled and slipped into the bathroom he breathed out heavily before he got up himself to get dressed.

When she had finished Beckett stepped out into the bedroom and smiled at her husband who was standing at the window, dressed. Going over to him she wrapped her arms around his right one and said, "Ready?"

Turning to her Castle placed his hand on the small of her back before he pulled her flush against him and leaned down, capturing her lips with his own. He kept it simple but still a little sensuous before they moved away from each other at the same time. He pressed his forehead against hers saying, "You got my reaction to you right?"

"I think I did," Beckett said in amusement before they kissed briefly. She went over to the bed and sat on the end of it as her husband went to the closet where her shoes were. When he came back to her and helped her right foot into her heel she said, "I'm getting it again right now."

Castle didn't reply to that, merely glanced up at her momentarily before he helped her with her other shoe. He stood up as she did and said, "I think Julia wanted us to be like this."

"And she thought that would happen with dancing," Beckett finished for him. When her husband nodded she smiled saying, "It's amazing how over the years she's been looking out for our marriage more and more."

"She loves us being her parents," Castle said simply. "But we'll tell them about the success of our night tomorrow."

"A little too sure of yourself Rick, we haven't even left yet," Beckett said. She softly laughed when he raised and lowered his eyebrows a few times before leading her out and she took his hand before they headed down to the front door to leave.

Walking over to the main street Castle held her hand tightly as they went back nearly to the park that was next to the beach. When they were inside the restaurant and being led to their table he let her go ahead of him, not surprised to see a few men looking over at her. When she reached back to his hand he knew she'd seen that too and it wasn't until they're been left alone at their table that he said, "I'm used to that now."

"Oh I know, that was just so they wouldn't think it would be that easy to get me away from you," Beckett said with a smile. She looked out at the view they had of the beach below them and said, "This was a great choice."

"I honestly didn't know about the view," Castle said, looking back to her as he'd been glancing at the view as well. "But I guess that's why Skye and Mary suggested it."

"Probably," Beckett said before they needed to order their drinks.

"You're getting something off their Mexican food menu too?" Castle asked her when they were left alone.

"The enchiladas," Beckett told him.

"I was thinking of that myself," Castle replied. "Something different."

Beckett smiled briefly and said, "Then it's a good thing I asked what wine would go with that." At her husband's nod she said, "Have you thought any about our vacation?"

"What do you mean," Castle said.

Before she could answer Beckett had to give her order with him and as soon as they were alone again she said, "To us?"

"You read my mind," Castle said jokingly. "To us, love."

After they'd tapped their wine glasses together she then said, "What I was talking about was your mentioning going on summer vacations like that."

"I did do that with Alexis a little," Castle said. When his wife looked at him questioningly he explained, "We went to France and also Australia and New Zealand."

"Before the movies?" Beckett asked in amusement.

"Yes," Castle said with a slight laugh. "And even without the movies, beautiful country; same with Australia. But we would go for the whole summer and not come back until right before school started up for her. It's why I wrote during the school year eventually. It became easier to do that and let me have a chance to escape the heat before it got too bad."

Seeing that her husband was giving her a questioning expression Beckett said, "I'm looking forward to that. But it's not something I'm used to."

"So I need to prove to you that you can enjoy traveling for that long," Castle said.

"No," Beckett said, rolling her eyes though she was smiling. "I guess I'm a little worried about Eliza. How old was Alexis?"

"Not that young," Castle said, nodding to her to concede the point. "But she'll love it, she might learn other languages."

"I'm still going Rick," Beckett said with a laugh as he was trying to tempt her with that with his tone of voice. "I'm eager to; it's just as a mother…"

"Yeah I know, I'm with you on that," Castle said. "I've never traveled with someone that young before. But is it that much harder compared to when she was eight months old?"

"Maybe it's the fact she can take off now," Beckett replied.

The two looked thoughtful at that before they looked at one another and said at the same time, "Julia."

"Our secret weapon," Castle said as they were both laughing slightly. "She's a great big sister."

"Provided she doesn't take off herself," Beckett said. When her husband looked doubtful at that she quickly added, "To take pictures."

"That's very true," Castle said with a nod. "Well it's a family trip so we'll spend time with them and watch them. And so will my mom, your dad and Alexis."

By then their food had arrived and Castle and Beckett began to eat while they talked about the time they had left until they needed to leave for Madrid. They were a little unsure about doing anything special and in the end decided they would just remain home together.

"I'm so glad we're not sending Macca to a kennel," Beckett said towards the end of the meal.

"There's a pet resort in the Hamptons you know," Castle said. When he saw her reaction to that he said, "Okay, maybe not. There is it's north way at the edge of town in that direction. It's got a pool and the dogs sleep on beds inside so Macca would enjoy it. But for now I'm glad David and Rebecca can watch him for us."

Beckett nodded and finished the last of her wine before she said, "Not a bad meal."

"I'd take credit for it… but since you saw me sitting here the entire time it was prepared that would be a little pointless," Castle said, nodding to their waiter who took his card.

"A little," Beckett said in amusement. When the meal was paid for she stood up and went with him out of the restaurant, that time holding his upper arm with her hand as she pressed close against him. When he turned right at the main street she was about to ask him about their walk on the beach but realized he likely wanted to head down from the house so she said, "Any chance we could stop for something sweet?" At his startled look to her she asked a little laughingly, "What?"

"Didn't think I'd hear that coming from you," Castle said. "I was planning to make us something sweet at home," he said. "Well, kind of."

"Before or after our walk?" Beckett asked him though she wondered what exactly he meant.

"Before," Castle said though he looked to her to give her a chance to protest that. When there was none he continued with her to the market to pick up some things for the dinner the next night. Continuing he held his wife's hand tightly until they reached the house and he went to the kitchen with her following. "You can sit outside if you want," he told her as he started to get some things out on the counter.

"Do you want to surprise me?" Beckett asked as she watched him.

"No just give you the chance if you'd like," Castle said before he began to prepare two glasses of Irish coffee.

Watching him Beckett said, "I was wondering about the Irish whiskey."

"I had a feeling you would," Castle said. "I'm hoping that Skye's dad likes it as I'll be gifting the bottle and the other one I'll keep unopened to him."

"We can ask Skye tomorrow," Beckett said. "But not exactly Irish coffee."

"Cream was nowhere to be found," Castle said as he was using whipped cream at the top. "When we get to Ireland we'll have it as it should be."

"And this was the sweet part?" Beckett asked with a smile as he held out a plate with Irish shortbread cookies on it to her.

"It was, let's head outside," Castle said, following her out to the deck after she'd opened the doors for them. Sitting at the table with her he said, " _Sláinte_ love."

" _Sláinte_ ," Beckett replied, tapping her glass against his. She took a sip and smiled saying, "We don't necessarily need to walk."

"But you do want to go down to the beach?" Castle said. When he looked at his wife and saw her nod slightly he smiled and took her hand to squeeze it before he said, "Then that's what we'll do."

The two were quiet as they looked out at the ocean in front of them while twilight began to pass and finished their coffee and cookies. When the table was cleared off Castle took Beckett's hand and they headed down to the beach where she let go of him to take off her shoes.

"You're not going to go in?" Beckett asked her husband as she looked up at him.

Castle hesitated; but only briefly; before he was getting his shoes and socks off and by the time he had rolled up his trousers slightly his wife was ankle deep in the water. He came up behind her and pulled her close saying, "We could kill two birds with one stone." At the cry of a seagull he called, "I didn't mean that literally!" He felt his wife laughing in his arms before he kissed the side of her head and said, "We could dance right here."

"I think up on the deck is a better option," Beckett told him, turning to face him. She wrapped her arms around his neck then as he was starting to lean down and she nearly began to moan when he crushed his lips to hers before he pulled away. She then took his hand and without a word they started to walk together down the sand.

Before they could get too far Castle stopped and wrapped his arm around her waist to turn her around. When he heard his wife suppressing a laugh he looked over at her questioningly though he wasn't sure she could see him.

"That was a long walk," Beckett said teasingly as she had an idea he'd wonder why she'd made that sound.

"It is night," Castle said.

"Very astute of you," Beckett shot back. When she felt him stopping near the gate to the house she slipped from his arm and said, "What if I wanted to go the other way?"

"We'd have to eventually stop, I can't see you climbing over those rocks in that dress," Castle replied.

" _I'm not naked underneath this_ ," Beckett said in mock exasperation.

"Sure about that?" Castle asked. When she merely smirked at him and turned away he sighed saying, "I was hoping."

"Yeah it's too risky as windy as it is here," Beckett said while he went with her to their shoes. Since they were next to a low rock she stepped on top of it and said, "I can climb some of these."

"Some," Castle said before she got down and picked up her heels. He grabbed his shoes and let her take his hand to lead the way up to the lower landing. He used the hose that was there to help her rinse off her feet and then took care of his own. Once they'd made their way up to the deck he said, "Now we can dance."

"I thought you'd want to go inside," Beckett said, a wide smile on her face as he got his phone out of his pocket.

"After this one dance," Castle told her. When it began to play, he set the phone down on the table, and pulled his wife to him, wrapping his arm around her waist as she put hers about his neck.

Swaying with him, Beckett pressed her cheek to his and listened to the lyrics of the George Harrison song they'd danced to on Valentine's Day, smiling as he seemed to enjoy the lyrics greatly. When the music had faded she turned her head slightly, kissing her husband deeply on the lips while he pressed his hands against the small of her back as hard as he could. She moaned that time as he was quick to start taking over the kiss and they were nearly wrestling with their tongues inside of her mouth.

Castle wasn't sure when in the span of that kiss that he'd reached up to cup the back of his wife's head but when they parted he realized his fingers were slightly tangled within her hair. "Come on," he said, trying to clear his throat when his voice sounded a little too deep to him.

Beckett didn't mind the change in the timbre of his voice, it struck her as a great turn on, and she helped him lock the doors once they were inside a little hurriedly. She let him lead the way upstairs and was startled when he pulled her all the way to the windows. She only had a moment to realize what he was doing before he was pushing her against the glass and crushing her lips with his own. She held onto him as tightly as she could while she responded to him, remembering the night before and her need for the glass at her back. That moment was much the same as she raked her nails through his hair and she shook slightly when he pulled away, not sure why her reaction had been that. "Rick…" she started to say.

"More?" Castle asked, breathless himself. He nodded then before she could reply and said, "More." He kissed her again and that time he allowed his hands free reign over her body which led to him becoming rougher with her lips. He had to make himself stop, a little concerned he'd lose all control and hurt her, but luckily when he looked into her eyes Beckett seemed to be aroused more than anything else. He brushed his lips to hers and then murmured something into her ear.

"It won't last," Beckett said immediately. She bit her lower lip when he shrugged, and then smiled saying, "I'm ready whenever you are."

"Vixen, you can tell I'm ready right now," Castle said, using that moment to press against her mound with his groin. At her groan of pleasure he did that movement again before stopping himself, knowing he'd continue it if he allowed himself to. So instead he kissed her gently and briefly before taking her over to the side of the bed. "I have to wonder about those men now," he couldn't help say.

Smiling Beckett replied, "You're gloating aren't you?"

"Maybe a little bit," Castle said. When her hand suddenly went down to grasp his erection through his clothes he was grunting hard and gasped out, "You're taking that to mean I'm gloating more?"

Beckett didn't respond and instead she leaned into him to kiss him sensuously as he was quick to respond in turn to her. When they parted she whispered against his lips, "I want you to fuck me Rick," watching him closely for his reaction to that and her very breathy tone of voice.

"Great I need to," Castle said before crushing his lips hard against hers. He held her tightly to him before his hands started to run over her back and he kept doing that until he had to pull away from her to breathe. Cupping her face in his hands he brushed his lips against hers and then said, " _I want you love_."

At that Beckett kissed him back and told him, " _I told you I wanted you, I was serious about that. Very serious_." She then let him turn her around so her back was facing him and she felt him pulling the zipper down soon after. She breathed in slightly sharply as he began to kiss at her skin that was exposed and shivered as his breath was soon added to that sensation, warm against her flesh.

Before Castle could make her turn back towards him Beckett did so and he reached up, sliding his hands beneath the straps of her dress. He was sucking in air almost as he watched it floating down her body nearly to the floor. He then helped her with her panties though he mostly got them off himself. With her naked he picked her up and set her back down in the middle of the bed asking, "Is it really that laughable?"

"I just had to climb on top," Beckett said, smiling as she stayed sitting up to unbutton his shirt. He stayed close so they could kiss each other while they were doing that and she would have thanked him for that if they weren't soon busy getting him undressed completely. When he finally was she pulled him down to her and said, "Before we start out like that though…"

Though Castle was pretty sure his wife was as aroused as she was going to be he didn't argue with the kiss she gave him then and instead responded to her as quickly as he could. He tried to overtake her with it but it wasn't possible since she was able to match him very easily. When she finally pulled away he said, "Please tell me that was enough."

Studying him Beckett smiled and pecked his lips with hers before she got up and he was quick to move out of her way. She got onto her hands and knees, glancing back at her husband before he was behind her. "Oh… you know I'm ready now!" she gasped as he gently fingered her folds.

"Now I'm sure of it," Castle told her. Not surprised when she glared back at him a little he was quick to enter her and he breathed out as she moaned with the sensation of him sliding through her. He breathed out her name then and once they were fully coupled together he proceeded to move, starting out slowly at first. He expected some kind of protest from her for that but she was soon moving with him so he had his answer to what she thought. He leaned down and started to kiss at her shoulders and there he found himself already frustrated with the position. "You were right," he groaned to her.

"I know," Beckett said, knowing what he was feeling when he paused in kissing her back. "Just a little more if you want…"

Castle was about to say no but instead he decided to try and do so to at least get to the pace that he had wanted to set in the first place. While he was working up to that as quickly as he could he leaned down and kissed at her back again, as much as he could though every time he pressed his lips to her skin he felt more and more annoyed. He was still feeling pleasure, as the friction between them grew, but finally he let out a curse and pulled away from his wife.

Beckett was expecting that and she hurriedly flipped onto her back before he could even touch her. She spread her legs wide on the bed before he descended to her, making her scream shortly when he rammed into her as hard as he could. As he then proceeded to fuck her she moved so her right leg was up in the air, ankle perched on his shoulder. She was a little unsure of where to put her other leg at first but when she felt how deep he was still getting with that she kept it where it was. She also knew that she was going to move her other leg down eventually since they were kept apart with it up so she let herself enjoy Castle taking her as she hurried to match his pace the best that she could which she was soon able to do.

Looking down at her Castle was a little mollified by the fact that if he couldn't kiss her he could at least watch her. It was a pleasure to him to see the way her body moved in response to his thrusts and he groaned heavily as he was soon able to feel her clenching around him. He moved even harder and shortly after was able to feel the sweat breaking out on his skin. He didn't mind though, his concentration entirely on his wife as he began to groan her name. He wasn't sure if he was saying anything else to her, just aware that he was speaking. The sensation of them moving together, their hips slapping together in response to the speed of their bodies was intense and he wondered in the back of his mind how long they'd be able to last.

At the same time; though she didn't know it; Beckett was thinking the same as she had managed to angle her hips in such a way that he was coming down on her clit. The added stimulation was almost making her dizzy and she nearly stopped moving to be able to withstand it. But her husband was doing that for her and she breathed out, almost in relief, as he took her leg off his shoulder. "Too much," she said more than asked.

"I think so," Castle replied with a nod. He kissed her briefly and then pulled away saying, "For both of us." He then went down to her lips again and after they'd met he plunged his tongue into her mouth before they started to frantically duel. The taste of her was a jolt through him and with his body remembering the added pleasure of them moving it started to do so without him commanding it. He wasn't surprised when his wife broke off the kiss to gasp in pleasure at that and he leaned down to her neck, pressing his lips all over it.

Beckett was a little startled at that but then began to enjoy it before he slowed down. She tried to brace herself for what was coming next but when he started to suck at her pulse she was crying out his name once, wrapping her legs high up around his sides. She held him in place by pressing on the back of his head, moaning as he became a little rougher with his mouth. But finally he was pulling away; how long after he'd started she could never figure out; and she looked into his eyes. She felt herself shiver at the sight of his blue eyes, nearly black with his arousal, and she then drew him down to her breasts. She looked on as he reached up first with his right hand, running it over her mound before using his fingertips to rub her nipple. It was already taut with what she was feeling from their rough lovemaking so she reached up to stop him before pressing on the back of his head a little insistently. When he took the peak with his mouth she thought she'd gasped but it was a little lost in the rough sound of her heart beating in her ears. She then proceeded to stroke at the back of his head as he began to suckle and she lost her rhythm with his body, the pleasure a little overwhelming for her.

Feeling his wife against him Castle seemed to instinctively realize what was going on before he slowed down and then stopped. "I was close too," he told her when she nearly glared at him.

"That didn't mean you needed to stop!" Beckett said, sounding a little breathless. She then swore as Castle began to move again and she was wrapping her arms around him tight as her legs slid down to his waist. There she began to literally pound her heels into his ass, trying to drive him faster and harder as her body was screaming at her for permission to break. She wasn't sure how long it took after that but with Castle deep and rough she had little chance to take much more. Her orgasm hit her hard, nearly leaving her breathless and dizzy before she tried to recover. That was a difficult task as the sensation of him reaching his own climax was intense. She wasn't sure how long they were like that but finally she was slowing down, getting her breath back though her body was still throbbing in the aftermath. She gasped under her breath as her husband thrust roughly twice more before he stopped and she held him to her closely as she could feel his exhaustion in the way he was slumped against her.

"God you're amazing," Castle groaned out to her when he felt a little stronger. He felt her stroking the back of his head and then said, "Please tell me-" He was cut off when his wife kissed him and he groaned heavily in pleasure before he was responding to her, knowing that was her answer to him. With the way that her hands were clutching at him almost he had a sudden idea and he pulled away from her rapidly.

"What?" Beckett asked, slightly surprised at that. She was soon kissing him again as he crushed his lips to hers for a moment and she had to try and keep up with him as he kept doing that until finally he'd stopped. "Why-"

"Sorry, just… felt like I needed to do that," Castle replied, breathing a little heavily at first. He pressed his forehead to hers and said, "Had enough?"

"No," Beckett said. She smiled when Castle jerked away from her slightly and said, "What did you have in mind Rick?"

Smirking at that Castle kissed her quickly again and then pulled away before getting off of the bed. He went into her suitcase and searched through it until he found what he was looking for.

"You're a pervert Castle," Beckett told him though she was feeling a sense of anticipation watching him come back to her with her vibrator in hand.

Castle didn't reply to that, instead he moved to get on top of her before he was reaching between her legs, rubbing at her clit. When she moaned softly he kissed his way back and forth over her neck before she was pulling him up to her lips. They kissed deeply and at the same time he started to turn on the vibrator. When she pulled away he looked at her and said, "You're ready."

Beckett couldn't help smiling at that before she sat up; sensing they'd had the same idea of how they wanted to make love that time when he moved with her almost the second that she did. "I am, you might need some work though," she said before she looked down and saw that she was mistaken. "Oh, maybe not."

"Hurry," Castle said, almost a little desperately. He moved with her then so she was straddling him and he held her by her hips as she reached down to grasp his arousal. "Kate-" he started to say.

"I'll use it," Beckett promised, pleased again at the thought that they didn't have to speak too much to let each other know what they wanted. She lowered herself down on him until he was fully inside of her and she breathed out once before moving her legs so they were draped back over his own. She jumped a little when he touched her clit gently and she pushed away his hand and said, "Don't touch."

Castle was about to protest that idea when his wife was began to move, rocking her hips back and forth first. He groaned and gripped her hips a little tighter before sliding one hand up her side until he had reached her breasts. He fondled them both for a while, trying at the same time to match the pace that she had set up though he had a slightly difficult time at first. Once he was there though he was nearly jumping as he heard the sound of the vibrator coming on. He had almost forgotten it but when he saw Beckett bringing it in between her legs he felt the anticipation he'd had before rushing back to him and he was waiting eagerly.

The second that she touched it to herself, Beckett was startled when her husband jumped against her, breaking their rhythm for a moment. She wasn't sure why she chose that moment to forget the fact that the vibrator affected him too since he was deeply within her but once she remembered she bit her lower lip as she glanced down to him. She wasn't surprised when he looked taken aback and then pressed the blue plastic against herself again, starting to get back to their pace before as she closed her eyes tightly at the instant pleasure that hit her from both him and the toy.

Groaning heavily Castle nearly started to sit up but just managed to stop himself as he didn't want to stop feeling her pleasuring herself and then in turn him. He thrust up against her again to try and add to what he was feeling between the two of them. When she started to rock her body against his he watched her closely doing that, tempted to take the vibrator out of her hand so he could wield it for her. The feel of her moving in a rocking motion was nearly making him dizzy as he was trying to move as normal within her. He watched his wife again and said, "Going to… have to stop doing those… when we don't see each other."

"I know," Beckett laughed on an exhale. She then reached for his right arm; since his hand was still on the small of her back there; and tugged on it gently. When he sat up instantly she had to wonder how long he'd wanted to do that. But she was distracted when he grabbed her wrist to pull the vibrator out of the way between them so he could close the gap between them nearly completely. Just feeling their bodies together was still enough to slowly edge her to her peak and she wrapped her free arm around him tightly as they were kissing hungrily. When they parted a few more rapid kisses were exchanged before she started to draw him down to her breasts. She was taken aback when he wouldn't bow his head and instead moved her hand to place the vibrator on her again. She watched him once he'd done that, seeing his eyes closing tightly in response to the feel of it in between them again. "Rick," she murmured, making him look up at her.

Breathing heavily at the sight of his wife's brief smile Castle leaned into her and kissed her. He wasn't able to do it as hard as he had before but it was no less pleasurable as they managed to curl their tongues together carefully. When he pulled back he gave into temptation, nibbling her lower lip for a while as she jerked awkwardly against him. When he moved away he suddenly reached down, pulling the vibrator out of her hand and tossing it somewhere behind him on the bed before he looked to Beckett, grasping her hips tightly so he could move her up and down around him again, feeling her hands circling his shoulders as soon as he'd done that. He hissed as he was better able to feel the rough friction sending shocks of pleasure through him between them once again and after watching them where they were coupled together he tilted his head up towards his wife in time to take her lips crushing his own.

Holding onto her husband Beckett followed his lead then, unsure what happened that had led them to giving him dominance. When that would happen she was never able to really tell if something in their movements or the heightened pleasure were driving them. But soon she could feel herself starting to have a harder time being distracted by Castle as he kissed her or took her breasts in different ways. And she gasped out in warning to him, "I'm going to come Rick, oh god I'm going to fucking come." When he taunted her a little saying, "You'll never do it Kate, I'll make you feel this second before you reach it the rest of the night while I come inside your wonderful pussy," she broke and didn't even bother trying to delay it as she couldn't stop it. Her back arched in her husband's arms and she cried out his name repeatedly until she was nearly dizzy saying it so many times. Dimly she became aware of the fact that he was climaxing shortly after the beginning of hers and she held him even tighter as he clutched desperately at her.

Castle lost track of time, so much so that he could have sworn that their second orgasms followed directly on the heels of their first. But he didn't try to think that out too much, instead feeling his wife as she was trying to draw his release from him so forcefully that he was a little desperate in the last few thrusts he made though she'd stopped, nearly limp in his arms. When he was still for a few seconds and had recovered he carefully moved them, laying her back before lying on his own side as he curled his body almost protectively around hers. "Kate," he murmured against the side of her head. " _I adore you_ Kate, _I love you_."

"Hmm," Beckett sighed, opening her eyes to look at him. "I love you too Rick. And I can't help adore you." She sighed again and with a satisfied smile added, "Not after that."

"We're not done yet thought," Castle told her. He watched her reaching down her body then and asked, "What is it?" as her face looked a little perplexed.

"No, it's… this," Beckett told him, showing him the vibrator. She watched him set it on his nightstand and said, "We probably need to close the door before morning."

"I don't see them coming that early," Castle told her.

"Still, what if we stay in late?" Beckett pointed out.

"And were busy," Castle finished. When she nodded he looked thoughtful for a moment and said, "I see, they'd probably feel sick. So I'll take care of that, but later."

"Of course," Beckett said in amusement. She sighed then and said, "You scare me sometimes."

"When I take over?" Castle asked her, studying her. When she nodded he scoffed saying, "I doubt it, you're just trying to make me worried."

"Wait I was kidding," Beckett said as she; and he as well; remembered his father at the same time. "I was Rick that was amazing and you were incredible," she told him in a rush, taking his hand. She made him feel in between her legs and said, "This… this isn't just… you…"

"Sorry," Castle said, stopping when he realized he was touching her still even after she'd finished speaking. "But I do love you when we do this."

"Exactly," Beckett said, jumping on that. She leaned over and shared a quick kiss with him telling him, "And I can feel that love."

"And if you're not going to say it I will, I feel the same way," Castle replied. "I mean your love for me; I feel it when we're together. And wow, it's tight."

Shaking her head though she was smiling Beckett said, "I have exercises for that."

"Oh I know, you've used them on me," Castle said. He then leaned over and kissed his wife deeply before they carefully parted a few moments later. "But this doesn't need to be over of course."

"Of course, so what do you want to do now?" Beckett asked, lying back down all the way before she put her hands under her head. She saw her husband's eyes roam her body and she said, "Go on, you can touch."

"You're sure? Because I'm not feeling it from you yet," Castle said.

"Feeling what?" Beckett asked in amusement.

"That 'I want you' vibe," Castle replied.

Beckett studied him and then with a slight quirk of her eyebrow said as seriously as she could manage, "Then maybe you need to work me up to that."

Castle was finding himself a little short of breath as she pushed herself up and propped the pillows so they were holding her up. "I think I could do that," he told her nearly breathlessly.

"Then come here lover," Beckett said, motioning him to her with her finger.

With that Castle lunged at his wife and he and Beckett began to kiss each other passionately before they were moving, shifting so they could make love. Their talk that morning spurred them on to take as much of the night for themselves as they could but that bout after teasing one another was more than enough to pleasure them for the time being. The rest of the night they worked themselves up so could satisfy each other the same way again, trying to slake their desire. It was a daunting task as it never seemed to abate, though neither Castle nor Beckett cared taking what the other gave repeatedly and doing their best to give the same to the other. All that spurred them to continue while Saturday's dawn approached outside the room where they were still ardently entwined and coupled together.


	15. Onto The Outside

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There are lyrics from the songs I Love This House by Paul McCartney, then the song Mo by George Harrison and lastly Summer of '59 also by Paul.
> 
> The title of this chapter is a lyric from the song B Side to Seaside by Linda and Paul McCartney, from Linda's album Wide Prairie.

Watching her husband as he was biting into the strawberry Beckett said, "I didn't think you were serious about these."

"I was going to surprise you with them last night," Castle said as he then reached down with the other half of the berry and started to run it around her breast, coating the nipple and surrounding skin in the juice. "But things… happened and I forgot about it of course."

"Of course," Beckett repeated, shaking her head as she smiled. "This is our breakfast?"

"I was planning on making some eggs for you," Castle told her. "Once we manage to get downstairs and eat out on the deck before we go back down to the water."

"And your plans when we get to the beach?" Beckett then asked.

"Just lay out, swim or whatever we want to do," Castle replied. "Why, you had something else in mind?"

"Not really I was preoccupied before this…," Beckett said. She trailed off when her husband leaned down and started to gently lap at the berry juice around her breast before she reached up to hold onto the back of his head and neck at the same time. She slid her fingers through his hair and sighed deeply as he didn't stop even though he'd soon cleaned off her skin. "Wait," she told him, gently pushing him away from her.

"Are you sure?" Castle asked as he pulled away from her reluctantly.

"I am," Beckett replied, reaching over to the bowl that was nearly empty and picking out a strawberry. She bit into it, not surprised when he was staring at her closely while she did that, and then she shook her hair back over her shoulders before she said, "You're not hungry?"

"Not for these," Castle said before he ate the other half as she pressed it to his lips. After eating it he leaned down capturing her lips with his before plunging his tongue past her lips. They were dueling for a good deal of time, until they needed to breathe, and when they parted he murmured, "For you."

It took Beckett a moment to realize that her husband was answering her question and she then said, "I'm not that surprised, you've been using me as your plate for a while now."

"You never told me to stop," Castle was quick to reply with. "So you want me to now."

"No," Beckett said before pulling him back down to her. When they kissed she tried to pull him over onto her body before he broke off the kiss at that. "You don't want that?" she asked him, making sure her lips were brushing against him with every word she said.

"We're not finished yet," Castle responded. He reached for the last berry in the bowl and then fed it to her, watching her lean up to take a bite before she lay back. He knew she was expecting him to run it over her skin in some place on her body but instead he popped the rest of it in his mouth before finishing it. That done he leaned down and crushed his mouth to hers, that kiss heavy and rough as he felt her arms and legs coming around him. He could feel her desire as he moved over slightly to lay on top of her and then slowly pulled away before looking at her to see what she wanted exactly in that moment.

Beckett's response to that was to shift her body enough that he was nearly slipping inside of her and once that was accomplished she smiled at him, not wanting to say a word.

Castle could only use one word to describe his wife's expression and that was sultry. Still her need was easily read on her face and he moved until he was grasping his erection that he'd been dealing with since that morning. Dealing with so much so that he nearly wept in relief once he was fully within her, groaning instead to let her know what she was doing to him. With the way she was grasping him he felt her relief as well and he began to move, going slowly as her legs came up to wrap around his waist. Breathing out harshly he looked down at her closely since he was above her slightly. " _I want to love you_ Kate," he told her seriously.

Nearly gasping for air at that and at her husband's tone, Beckett nodded her head quickly before she murmured, "So do I… you need to let me give you the same you're giving me now Rick."

"Anything, anything you want my love," Castle told her, his voice husky in his craving for her. He continued to move, soon starting to breathe heavily at the feel of her sex around him, moving in perfect rhythm with him. He leaned down and started to kiss at her neck and up underneath her ear before he pulled away to go directly to her lips. Her responding to him instantly spurred him on to deepen that until their tongues were nearly wrestling between both their mouths.

When he moved away from her Beckett breathed in deeply and slid her hands up the back of his head before she cupped it, letting him go down to her neck. She shivered slightly as he pressed his lips gently against her skin before he reached where her pulse was racing underneath it. She sighed softly at the sharp pleasure that shot through her body every time he kissed her and when he started to gently suck against her pulse she tried not to break their thrusts though it was hard. She soon had herself back with him again, moving at the same rhythm he was at. It was still slow and careful but she felt a good deal of pleasure even with the slightly gentler friction that was going between them. "Oh god… Rick," she breathed.

Moving his head away from her then, Castle moved up to her face and brushing his lips against hers murmured, "You want more?"

"No, this is… enough," Beckett breathed out as he brushed his lips over her jaw and then down to her shoulder. She moaned softly with each kiss he pressed there until he moved away and she guided him over to her lips. They kissed eagerly until they needed to breathe and she had only a second to realize that he was turning them around so he was lying below her.

Castle was a little startled when she seemed to recover rapidly from that, pulling him up so she could throw her arms around him. Holding her tightly he responded to her kiss she pressed to his lips immediately and he ran his hands around her back until he moved away. Before she could protest that he reached up and covered her breasts, not surprised when she stopped while trying to get him close enough to kiss and let her hands go to his arms. With that he leaned down and carefully took her right nipple between his lips, sucking on it slowly. He was gratified at the moan that came out of his wife's mouth at that and he kept doing that until he forced himself to go to her other breast to repeat that same action.

Eventually Beckett started to stroke the back of her husband's head and when she did that she began to roll her hips around, changing from rocking against him. She felt his muffled groan on her skin and she tried not to smile too widely at that as he was moving away from her. She cupped his face in her hands and then kissed him, a very brief one before she pushed on his shoulders. She was pleased when he let himself fall back and looked on as his gaze focused on where they were coupled; which had been her plan. She then began to play around a little with the different ways she could move on him and made sure to watch him to catch his response to her when she did that.

Castle's hands went up to his wife's hips the first time she began to rock on him, then they dug in her skin a little as she then proceeded to bounce on him as well. He did the best he could to watch her which became more and more difficult as what she was making him feel was building up. Eventually he couldn't stop himself, reaching down from her hips and letting his fingers slide over her skin and to her clit.

Beckett's cry was a little bit of a gasp at the same time as the brush against her swollen nub set off what felt like an explosion of pure energy. She nearly stopped moving on him as he kept on touching her, seeming to almost play with her. "Rick, please… don't stop," she moaned.

"Just like this?" Castle asked her, breathing heavily as her being affected was quick to affect him. He was feeling his pleasure rise and become stronger before he thought of something and asked her, "How?"

Tugging on his arm Beckett felt a little bit of relief when Castle turned them around again and as soon as she was on her back she was wrapping her legs tightly around his waist. She was a little surprised when he kept the same rhythm that they'd managed to stay with up until that point and when she sensed that she reached up, running her fingertips down his side. When she reached his hip, she placed her palm flat there, feeling both herself and her husband's body together. The slow motion of their skin rubbing her there made her moan and she told him, "We feel so good together love," nearly groaning the words as she was fighting with herself.

"I know," Castle said simply before he reached down to feel what she did. He couldn't help shuddering in pleasure at the sensation of their skin pressed so close and he moved to take her lips. Their kiss was a passionate one but careful as he didn't sense it was right to start making things too rough. When they parted he murmured to her, "I think we'll be even better now Kate."

Feeling him sliding his hand underneath her to place it on the small of her back, Beckett knew what he was trying to do and she tried to help him deeper inside of her the best she could. While she was attempting that there was a moment when he entered at just the right angle, just the right speed, and she was breaking hard. She wrapped her arms even tighter around her husband's neck, crying out his name in unabashed ecstasy as her orgasm was nearly rough through every inch of her body. She had no idea when Castle joined her, was just suddenly aware that he was and feeling a brief rush at the sensation that nearly got her off a second time. She held onto him to withstand the pleasure that was going through both their joined bodies until they soon both began to calm down and she was the first to stop.

Thrusting a little harder than he had before twice, Castle stopped and just managed to keep himself above Beckett before he realized something. "I was calling your name just then right?" he asked her.

Smiling at his slight concern Beckett debated for a moment if she wanted to tease him but decided it would be a little cruel to do so. "You did," she finally said. "You were enjoying that."

"So were you," Castle said before he and his wife stared at each other.

"We're good together," Castle and Beckett said at the same time. With that they began to kiss and it took a little longer before they were finally parting and getting up to dress for the beach.

"There're more strawberries," Castle told his wife down in the kitchen as she was pouring out some orange juice for them both at the counter. "Want some?"

"I think we should save those for Skye and Mary," Beckett replied before she stood next to him to put back the bottle. "Eggs will be fine."

"And bacon, luckily I managed to pick that up," Castle said. He went over to the stove with the items, looking over at his wife as she leaned against the counter next to him. "You love watching me cook."

"I'd feel a little weird waiting outside," Beckett said teasingly.

"And that too," Castle replied. He poured some milk into the bowl where the yolks were and was just about to pick up a fork to begin whipping them when his wife's hand appeared on his arm. "What-" he began.

"Shh, did you hear that?" Beckett asked him.

Castle looked at her in surprise before he heard what she had and said, "It sounds like singing."

"It does," Beckett agreed before they headed over to the front door they'd opened since it was coming from that direction.

" _Holes in the gutters, holes in the slate, holes in the carpet, but I won't evacuate_ ," a voice sang, coming from the garage then. A moment later, Mary McDouglas stepped out, Skye behind her continuing to sing, " _I love this house it's where I'll stay, eat and drink the night and day, I love this house it's where I'll beee_."

"Love!" Mary cried finally as her wife's voice rose up significantly on that last word. "Think of the dogs in the neighborhood, I beg you."

" _For you to spend some time with me, I love this house_ ," Skye finished off. She then looked past her wife and said, "Had to finish that off. Good morning you two."

"Morning, you know that song?" Beckett asked with a smile on her face.

"Oh sure," Skye replied. "Can't tell by my shirt I would know Paul's songs?" she asked, gesturing to her shirt that featured a picture of the singer.

"How was the drive?" Castle asked as the two women approached them and stepped into the house.

"Great we left it early enough so we didn't catch too much traffic," Mary said, watching as Skye was putting the guitar case she'd been carrying in the living room through the open window on the first landing of the stairs. "By the way, the house is fine, it's just a song."

"We figured," Castle replied. "Have you had breakfast? I was just getting some scrambled eggs together for Kate and I."

"We slept in today so we just ate something… quick," Skye answered, walking with them over to the kitchen along with her wife as they brought their suitcases with them. "So if you don't mind we'd love to join you."

"In the meantime, we'll drop our things off in our room," Mary said.

Beckett went with her husband to the kitchen as she watched the two go outside to the deck and then down the stairs. "So I guess that is their room," she said to him when she looked to Castle and saw that he was turning his attention to the food. "Do you need my help at all?" she asked.

"Go ahead," Castle replied, busy getting more of the eggs out and broken in the bowl.

Going to the stairs down to the first landing, Beckett saw the doors in the windows open and she stepped up to it, seeing that there was a little kitchen along with a couch and small TV. She saw a door to the left and was about to call out to the two women to let them know that she was there when Skye stepped up to the doorway. "Sorry, we were wondering if this was where you were going to stay," she explained to her.

"Come on in," Skye said with a smile. "You can look around if you'd like."

"How was everything back at your home?" Beckett asked, stepping up to the bedroom and seeing that it was small but had an armoire and a large bed along with what appeared to be a bathroom to the left.

"Just fine," Mary answered for her wife, putting something in the shelves of the armoire.

"Yeah, she's not kidding," Skye said, smiling over at Beckett. "I may be getting a plane again."

"A Piper?" Beckett asked, glancing at the investigator's wife when she heard that.

"Not sure yet, I'll need to see of course," Skye said.

Something came to Beckett then and she said, "You can sing."

"Surprised you with that it looks like," Skye said as she set a small pile of clothing on the bed. "And I suppose I can-"

"Except for those high notes," Mary said, trying to speak out the corner of her mouth but not bothering to keep her voice down.  
"I only do that on that song," Skye protested before she laughed and squeezed her wife's hand. She then said to Beckett, "Can also play the guitar too."

"Those are yours in the living room?" Beckett asked, not too surprised to hear that.

Nodding, Skye then said, "Are you going down to the beach after breakfast."

"We are," Beckett said with a nod. "Will you guys be using the paddleboards?"

"Surfboards too, they're in our car still," Mary said.

"Great do you think you could teach Rick?" Beckett asked.

"He wants to learn?" Mary asked, setting her empty suitcase on the bottom of the armoire.  
"He does but he's trying to pass it off as wanting me to learn," Beckett replied.

"Do you want to?" Skye then inquired.

"Sure but him first," Beckett answered.

"We'll be glad to. Now we'll just be changing for the beach so-" Skye started to say.

"Get out?" Beckett asked with a slight smirk on her face.

"Not that threatening," Skye said.

"I have to wonder if your husband would want you to stay," Mary said.

"You know he's never expressed the desire to see me with another woman," Beckett replied. "Maybe sparring with them in the gym at the station when I used to use it but nothing sexual."

"You're lucky then," Skye said, looking surprised.

"I realize that," Beckett said. "I'll be up on the deck," she then said, shaking herself. "The doors?"

"Leave them open, we do that to air out the room," Mary said.

Beckett left then, hearing the door to the bedroom close behind her before she went back up to the deck, seeing that her husband as setting down the last plate on the table there.

"Hey, are-" Castle started to say when his wife was suddenly wrapping her arms around him and kissing him deeply. He was startled but didn't let that delay his reaction to her as he held her tightly to him and responded to her. He was taken aback when her tongue flicked out to his lower lip repeatedly before tangling with his and he had to fight for a moment before carefully pulling away. "What brought that on?" he asked her.

Able to tell from his tone of voice that he was pleased Beckett brushed her lips against his telling him, "No reason, I just realized I wanted to do that."

"Great, I'll take it," Castle said simply. "So everything's ready, I brought out the rest of the strawberries," he ended with, glancing at her to see her reaction to that.

"It's okay I don't know that we should be that involved together tonight," Beckett told him.

"To rest for the trip?" Castle asked, a little confused as he wondered why she wanted to do that.

"For whatever we do up until then," Beckett told him as he then helped her sit down. She squeezed his hand tightly and smiled at him before saying, "But we'll see how tonight turns out."

Castle wanted to comment on that but Skye and Mary were coming up to them so he instead said, "Breakfast is all set."

"Fantastic I'm starving," Mary replied. "Although this could be brunch."

"That's what we did yesterday," Castle said as they joined Beckett at the table. "Though we walked to where we ate."

"Oh, where did you head to?" Skye asked as she picked up her fork.

" _The Orange Inn_?" Beckett said, phrasing that in a question as she wanted to make sure the two women had gone there before.

"We've been there many, many times," Mary said. "Did you enjoy it?"

"We had it for dinner two nights ago too," Castle said. "So we did."

"And what do you think of the city?" Skye then inquired.

"It's a nice little community," Beckett said. "Artistic."

"It is," Skye said with a nod. "My dad likes that and he does love the beach. He jumped at the chance he had getting this house and we're very glad he did."

"How often do you come out here?" Castle asked the two.

"Usually to start off summer," Mary said. "Right after Father's Day the girls will come. Sometimes we make excursions around us but at the beginning we stick to the beach."

"Where do you go on those excursions?" Beckett said.

"Disneyland, too bad you couldn't join us," Skye said, her tone eager and disappointed all at once.

Smiling as she recalled Mary talking about the investigator becoming childlike in relation to the park Beckett said, "Yeah, that is too bad, I always wondered about it."

"Another time you're in the state," Mary said, looking pointedly at her wife.

"Okay, okay I won't go on about the place," Skye said in mock exasperation. "Thank you for the meal Rick, I nearly forgot."

"You're welcome," Castle replied with a nod. "It was the least we could do for what you've done for us while we were visiting."

"Should I try and figure out how that works out? Who owes who more?" Skye asked her wife.

"It'd take too long," Mary said.

"And would probably lead to some debate to figure that out," Beckett added.

"Okay then Mary and I can head out to the market later and get something to make-" Skye began to say.

"If you're talking about dinner we were going to make it," Castle said, interrupting her.

"Then we'll treat you to breakfast or lunch; whatever we're up in time for; tomorrow before you go," Skye said, her wife nodding next to her.

"Maybe," Castle said. "So how are things going for you?"

Mary looked a little startled and then realized what he meant saying, "I'm not in trouble for the fact that two of my former patients were trying to kill me. But that institute is so I think we're set with that case."

"We are," Skye said in agreement with her wife. "How's your family back east?"

"They're doing well," Castle said. "Which reminds me, we call them in the afternoon-"

"We can head down to the beach then if you don't want us there in the room with you," Skye replied.

"That's not what he meant," Beckett said for her husband. "We're just letting you know you can stay."

"You know, I might do that," Skye murmured. When she noticed the others looking at her she then said, "I mean we might do that and I'll explain later. For now we should finish up to head down to the beach."

With that the group soon went back to their food and after they'd eaten they cleaned up before heading down to the beach and laying out two blankets on the sand. Skye and Mary headed in first together, Castle and Beckett staying back on one of the blankets to watch them.

"Interesting," Castle commented eventually. He glanced at his wife and saw her slightly questioning expression and said in explanation, "That little apartment there. They have complete privacy to do whatever they want."

"As long as those curtains are closed," Beckett pointed out.

"As long as they're closed," Castle continued with a nod of his head. "You don't want to head out yet?"

"We can't, not when we're watching their boards," Beckett said, nodding to the two next to them.

"Yeah did you tell them about you learning?" Castle asked.

Beckett smiled at the eagerness in her husband's voice and she leaned over, kissing him on the cheek saying, "I mentioned it."

"Great," Castle replied before he saw that the women were coming back to them. "Think they'll want to start now?"

"We'll see," Beckett replied, standing up and taking off her cover up sundress.

"You two can go in now if you'd like," Skye told them. "Unless, Rick?"

"Yeah," Castle said, turning to her.

"Mary wants to teach you how to surf," Skye said, nodding to her wife.

"But…" Castle began to say.

"I'll teach you and Skye can teach Kate whenever she wants to learn," Mary replied easily. "Come on," she then said as she handed him the board she'd picked up.

Looking at his wife Castle then followed the woman down to the sand near the breaking waves where they set down the boards. Mary then started to instruct him on how to stand up and keep his balance, making him practice jumping up on the board a number of times. "Okay am I good now?" he asked a while later, sweating and breathing hard.

"I think we can go ahead and get started," Mary replied. She smiled at her wife and Beckett who followed them into the water and then had Castle get on top of his board before getting on hers to swim out further until they turned around to face the shore.

As they watched Skye and Beckett saw Castle taking a wave and slipping off the board before he could stand up all the way. The former turned to her friend and said, "You're sure you want him to do that?"

"Yeah I'm sure you were the same way," Beckett said with a shrug. She then smiled and said, "He'll learn not to fall right away at some point." She then watched as her husband swam back to where Mary was still on her board, waiting for him, and then tried again.

After a few times Castle went all the way to the shore; shakily though; as Mary had told him do and with his wife and Skye watched the woman take a wave easily before she dove into the water. "How long has she been surfing?" he asked Skye.

"Since she was seven," the woman replied easily. At Castle's groan of frustration she smiled and said, "It does take time. But why don't you two grab the paddleboards and head out?"

"You're going?" Castle asked as he raised his leg out of the water for her to take the cuff off his ankle.

"Of course," Skye replied easily before bending over and submerging her hands. When she had finished she said, "We'll see you two out there."

Alone, Castle followed his wife up to the lower landing of the house to grab the boards before he went back into the water after her. "Any reason why you're leading?" he asked when they were both on the boards before they stood.

Once she was upright Beckett told him, "I didn't lead this morning." She smiled when her husband shuddered at that before quickly straightening himself before they paddled out to where Skye and Mary were waiting to take a second wave. "How is it?" she called to them.

"Great and it will be now," Skye answered before she took off on the next one.

Though it was difficult to see Castle and Beckett watched her before they continued on out further in the water.

"Do you want to head out more?" Castle then asked his wife. "Or maybe head up the coast a bit."

"Let's head up but don't forget to watch out for other surfers," Beckett told him with a smile until they came to a certain point. She turned first and headed parallel to the coast, smiling at her husband who had soon caught up to her. They continued for a while in silence until she called to him, "Better turn back."

"You sure?" Castle asked her. At her glance he let her turn around completely first before he followed her and soon caught up with her again. He then followed her lead and concentrated on getting back to the shore before they got off the boards and pulled them up in front of their blankets to where Skye and Mary were sitting, waiting for them.

"Anything wrong?" Beckett asked the two.

"No we were debating if we wanted to head up the beach," Skye replied.

"To take a walk and head to the tide pools," Mary added. "She wants to see them to help her with the livery she wants to start next."

"You've finished some already?" Castle said.

"Just one, that was the redwood one," Skye said with a smile. "And I changed the design a bit. Luckily Hannah and Leslie were okay with it. I'll show you later when we're back up at the house," she said, adding the last when she saw the expression on Castle's face. "So we'll head out now," she said as her wife got up. "Unless you want to come with?"

"Sure," Castle said, already having a feeling his wife would have answered the same.

Once they'd gotten the boards to the lower landing and were wearing their cover ups, Beckett looked up with Skye as Mary came back down with some kind of fabric in one hand and in the other a camera. "What's that?" she asked as her friend suddenly groaned.

" _Grá_ , the-" Skye started to say, sounding annoyed.

"Sorry, grabbed the wrong thing," Mary said.

Breathing out Skye took the fabric and waited for her wife to stand in front of her a little before she took off her surfing top and board shorts, covering her bikini underneath with the sundress her wife had given her. "You're so lucky I love you," she said teasingly when she'd finished.

"She's done," Beckett said, touching her husband's shoulder as he'd been looking away from the couple while Skye was changing. "Nice of you to do that."

"It would make her uncomfortable," Castle said with a shrug. He glanced at Skye and then said, "She's an attractive woman."

Hearing the unasked question in his tone, Beckett smiled and said, "I think she doesn't like to draw attention to herself in that way. And likely not from men either."

Castle nodded to that as the women were approaching them and he asked, "What would you have worn if she'd brought what you wanted?"

"Capri pants and a blouse, opened though," Skye answered. "I'm modest but not that much I would cover myself up to that degree. Ready?" At their nods she took her wife's hand and they walked in a row down the sand before she said, "So your flight leaves at four tomorrow afternoon. I'm so sorry but it was the best I could do," having to hurry to add the rest as the two looked startled.

"I think we should tell them to go to the loft," Castle told his wife since they wouldn't be getting into NYC until midnight.

"It would be better, I'm not looking forward to an hour and a half drive home," Beckett said. "Not after a five hour flight."

"Think I might ask you something concerning the city?" Skye then asked. When the two replied that it was fine she said, "You're not worried about 3XK while you stay there?"

"We're never investigating a case," Beckett answered. "We're not going to risk him or one of his adherents seeing us at a crime scene or the station and go after our kids."

"Yeah I wouldn't risk it myself," Skye murmured. "And I mean that literally," she then said to her wife. "If someone wanted me out of the NTSB-"

"We've talked about that already love," Mary said, squeezing her hand. "And I'm glad you would do that. But this is a little dark; you two will head back to the Hamptons on Monday?"

"We will," Castle said. But that was all he could say as they had neared the point where the beach became rocks and they needed to hurry as by then the waves were breaking around them. "You get a good workout there," he said.

"You do but if we'd come later we wouldn't have had to do that," Skye replied. "So when are you leaving for Spain again?"

"The seventeenth," Beckett answered. "We land in Madrid and we start going through Spain."

"And you two going to Hawaii?" Castle asked.

"The twenty-second," Mary replied. "Just a random date we chose when a friend of hers would be flying the plane."

"Any reason?" Beckett said.

"Not particularly, I just wanted to see him again," Skye said. "We'll meet outside the door to the jetway, talk briefly before I see him the day after in Kaneohe where he lives. That's on the east side of Oahu."

"You'll have to keep in touch, if possible," Beckett said.

"You've been to Hawaii right?" Skye asked.

"Not yet but we will, I do want to take you and the girls," Castle was quick to tell his wife. "But will you have time for e-mails?"

"At some point we will be resting," Mary said, slight laughter in her voice. "And then I'm sure Skye will contact you Kate."

"I'll try," Skye then said quickly to her friend.

With a nod, Beckett then watched the two women climb up onto the rocks at the tide pools and she turned to her husband. "You want to?" she asked.

"Sure, you?" Castle asked. When she smiled and then took his hand he followed her up before they went to where Skye was taking a picture of one pool. "So this will help you?"

"Partially," Skye replied as she took a photograph of a sea star. "I need to have a design for the sea floor in my kelp forest picture and this is a big help since I have no idea how to dive."

"I'm really eager to see these liveries once you get them finished," Castle said.

"I'll show them to you," Skye promised before they went to another pool.

Separating from them Beckett took her husband's hand and pulled him over towards the other side of the pools, looking down at the waves crashing on the rocks below them.

"Something here draws you I think," Castle said. He laughed when she hit him in the side and said, "You realize I'm right."

"And you?" Beckett asked him with eyebrow raised. He opened his mouth and she said, "Don't say it was because I pulled you here." When he did the same a second time she then told him, "Or because you had to follow me."

"No, it's not," Castle said. He looked down at the water with her and after a while said, "I've been thinking about my father."

Beckett turned her head to look at him in surprise, able to tell he was serious, and it took her a moment to think of a reply before she said simply, "What about him?"

"That I would like to try and find if there's a group in Ireland trying to get the north back through… less violent means and make a donation," Castle replied, looking at her only when he'd finished.

" _We can try and do that_ ," Beckett said, not startled when he wrapped his arm around her at her indicating them both. She was about to hug him when a voice behind them stopped her and they turned around to face Skye.

" _I think I can help you with that_ ," the woman said, seeing the two were a little taken aback.

" _There's a group doing that_ diplomatically?" Beckett asked, having to use English for the last word as she had no clue how to say it in Irish.

" _There is but we can talk about it later of course_ ," Skye said in response as they weren't exactly alone. "Mary and I are going to head to the street, pick up some ice cream," she then told them.

"We'll go with you," Beckett replied. "We came here on Thursday already."

"Had fun?" Skye asked as they made their way to her wife who was already on the sand, waiting for them.

"Of course how could you not," Castle said absently. When they stepped onto the beach he looked at the woman who was looking at him and said, "What?"

"Nothing," Skye said.

"You can laugh," Beckett replied, knowing that the woman was holding back. "It takes a lot of strength to be able to handle the way he talks sometimes."

"I'm that amusing?" Castle asked, taking her hand as they were walking over to the street.

"Just your tone," Beckett assured him, squeezing his hand gently. "You might have been trying to slip into your Christopher Walken."

"Unintentionally," Castle said swiftly.

"I know," Beckett replied with a slight laugh. "Where is this place?"

"It's a little past the street to the house," Mary answered, looking back at them so they could hear her. "It's on this street but halfway to the next intersection."

"That's not too bad," Castle said in case the women thought they'd head back to the beach. "So what else do you two plan to do in the water?"

"We usually have our ice cream on the level our little apartment is on and stay there for a bit," Skye said before hesitating a little.

Since she was looking at her Mary said, "We practice with our guitars."

"You play too?" Beckett asked.

"I do," Mary said with a nod. "We both sing, usually songs from the Beatles' solo work."

"Paul?" Castle said.

"George?" Beckett then added right after him.

"Exactly," Skye said. "But we don't need to do that today."

"I'm interested now in hearing you two play," Castle said then.

"So am I," Beckett said.

"Well we can play a little," Skye said, looking at her wife who nodded in agreement to that. "And then we head down to the beach to surf and swim and also paddle on those paddleboards."

"You haven't had the chance to do that yet," Beckett said.

"And you two?" Mary asked.

"We'll see," Castle replied before they crossed another street.

It took a little bit longer before they had reached the ice cream parlor and with Skye and Mary's help Castle and Beckett chose their ice cream before they were walking around to the beach house from the other direction. Down on the upper landing they sat together around the fire pit to eat.

"It's all organic," Castle said, looking down at his cone.

"Did the name of the place not clue you in then?" Skye asked him in slight amusement.

"No that did but I didn't expect the flavors," Castle said.

"We thought you'd ask for our help; as it were," Skye then added. "So how do you like it? Both of you?"

"Mine is great," Beckett replied simply, having finished a spoonful of her strawberry rose and fresh mint scoops she'd gotten. "Did you send the picture to Alexis and my dad?" she then asked her husband.

Jumping as right when she said that he'd gotten a text Castle dug into the pocket in his trunks for his phone and said, "They got it; Julia's asking what colors are what flavors. The red and white was yours…"

"The brown and dark purple are yours, Mexican chocolate and blackberry," Beckett reminded him.

"Yours?" Castle asked.

"The blue and orange are blueberry mint and mango," Mary replied.

"And I got blueberry mint too, the pink is rose," Skye replied. "You don't have a place like this around you? Don't say no because it's not California," she said hurriedly as she could sense that Castle was going to do that.

"There isn't," Beckett answered instead. "But we can start looking around for one on the island. I think I'd prefer the girls eating this."

"I would like to too," Castle said. He then looked up at his wife and said, "To eat this."

Beckett smiled and shook her head before she went back to her ice cream. When they had all finished she waited by herself on the landing, looking out at the ocean until she heard footsteps behind her. Seeing it was Skye and she was holding the acoustic guitar that had been in the living room she asked, "Do you play in a band at all?"

"Funny you should ask, we just recently started to play with a couple of her friends," the woman said as she sat down. She began to check that the guitar was in tune before she continued with, "We play the songs we're going to play now, the solo stuff. We don't do it as a band and perform for the public, just for friends."

"You should tell them about your idea _grá_ ," Mary said, coming down with another acoustic guitar and Castle right behind her.

Shrugging Skye said, "Just to play through albums of Paul and George and The Beatles too but that might be more difficult. Okay so, what should we play?"

"You want us to make a request?" Castle said in surprise as he sat next to his wife.

At the women's nods, Beckett said, " _Mo_?"

"I think that's a challenge," Mary said to her wife.

"I think so," Skye said. She then said, "We do know that one." She moved her fingers into the first chord and began to play.

Beckett was a little surprised when the woman began to sing and the right lyrics as well. She glanced to Castle, seeing he was watching the way the two were both strumming their guitars and looking over as well she could see why as they were very adept at it.

" _Mo love, Mo good wishes, Mo smiles, Mo sweet kisses, Mo hits, and none of them misses mo, mo, mo, not for our good Mo_ ," Skye sang at the end. She then soon stopped and said, "We thought it that would be a good song for the girls to learn to sing. The word mo repeated let them pay attention to the rhythm of the song."

"It helps them with music," Beckett said.

"Your daughter?" Mary asked.

"Yeah she'll sing now when we're teaching her the piano; when she's teaching her the guitar," Castle said. "Another?"

"Go ahead and request something," Skye replied.

" _Summer of '59_?" Castle said immediately before his wife could reply to that.

"Was that rolling around in your mind?" Beckett asked him with a smile on her face.

"That's a great one for us," Mary replied. "Since we-"

"You know that song too?" Castle said, sounding surprised.

"Did you not hear us say we were fans of Paul's," Skye said, smiling as she spoke.

"What I was saying was that the song is good because we can do percussion ourselves," Mary said. "Ready?"

"Set love," Skye said. She waited for her wife to tap the body of her guitar before she began to sing and play. Around the middle of the song she glanced up at the two next to them, seeing Castle and Beckett were both tapping their feet on the ground before she launched into the next verse. " _In the summer of '59, dandelions shine up through the pavement, council houses drainpipe trousers, ciggy packs and long black jackets ties are laced, and it's all in the name of good taste_ ," she sang before going through the rest of the lyrics. "Haven't played that one in a while," she commented to her wife when they'd stopped.

"I know," Mary said, sounding like she was laughing a little at the same time.

"It didn't sound like you haven't played in a while," Beckett said, Castle nodding in agreement with her.

"Hey, think I can ask you if you can do something instrumental?" he then said.

"I think you just did," Mary said, sharing a look with her wife.

"You know the song _Goodnight Tonight_ ," Castle stated instead of asking. When the women nodded he continued with, "Then do you know how to play that kind of Flamenco music riff at the beginning."

"That's all you love," Mary said, taking her guitar off and setting it next to her.

"Of course," Skye said. "This'll answer your question," she told him before she began to play the opening chords of the song. At the point where the music changed, she branched off into Flamenco guitar that wasn't part of the song, making a face at her wife when she did so.

"Show off," Mary said teasingly as Skye stopped and set her guitar aside.

"She likes to tease me about that," the investigator told them with a smile. "I took a class to learn that before she and I met."

"I can't really learn that kind of playing that well," Mary explained. "But I do love seeing her play."

"You're good," Castle said quickly. "Is it that hard to play?"

"Not for me but of course not everyone's going to be able to get it right away," Skye said.

"Alright so I gave up," Mary said sarcastically before she and Skye got up to take their guitars into the apartment.

"We're heading back down," Skye said when they came back out. "And we'll be taking the boards out for a bit."

"How far do you go?" Beckett asked as they went over to the stairs together.

"A bit far but we go up to the tide pools going north and back south we go a bit past those rocks that block the beach," Mary answered.

"What about you two?" Skye asked as Castle closed the gate behind them all.

"More than likely just swim," Beckett answered for herself and her husband.

"When are you making dinner?" Mary then said.

"In about… two hours," Castle replied as Skye let him look at her watch she was wearing.

"We'll see you then," the investigator said before she and her wife went down to the water.

Watching them go, Castle turned to his wife and said, "You really don't want to learn."

"What, you want to give me a private lesson?" Beckett asked. "Not in that way," she said with a sigh as he suddenly looked to her with that. "And I don't know if you'd be that qualified to give me a lesson to tell you the truth."

"I could give it a shot," Castle said, shrugging his shoulders.

"Maybe not," Beckett said gently as she reached out for his hand and pulled him towards the water. She went under a wave when she was deep enough, hearing the sound of it above her and she soon resurfaced. She wasn't surprised to see her husband next to her then and she smiled at him saying, "I have to wonder what they're doing right now."

"I'm pretty sure the same thing but something tells me that they're in the pool today," Castle said. When his wife nodded he went underneath the forming wave and when he popped back up said, "When should we call them?"

"Like we agreed before," Beckett said as she let the waves take her back to the shore. She couldn't continue with what she was going to say next as they were at the beach and when they were standing she pulled on his arm to take him back out in the water where they swam together, going back and forth between the shore and the beginning of the waves until they began to get tired. Then she went to the sand and waited for her husband to join her on their blanket before telling him, "When we head in to start on dinner."

"You're going to join me?" Castle asked in amusement at how long it'd taken her to finish her comment, wrapping his arm around her shoulder before she leaned against him.

"Yes," Beckett said simply. She smiled when he looked down at her and she merely leaned over, kissing his cheek before turning her attention to the water in front of them.

Castle wanted to suggest they swim again but found he couldn't really voice the suggestion as he was enjoying sitting there with her. They watched the people swimming and surfing and even some skimboarding along the breaking waves. "That looks interesting," he said, talking about the latter.

"I don't know Rick," Beckett told him, unable to help smiling at his obvious interest in the sport. "If you couldn't quite get surfing…"

"You're seeing the potential for injury with that?" Castle asked her. At her smile and her not turning her head towards him he sighed and said, "Okay, maybe but-"

"Rick," Beckett said sternly though her tone wasn't as serious as it could have been.

"See, here you're acting like a mother," Castle said.

"Not the first time I've had to do that," Beckett told him, laughing softly. She raised her head from his shoulder then and turning to him wasn't too surprised to find her husband's lips meeting her own. She returned his kiss as quickly as she could and when he pulled away a short time later she leaned her forehead to his.

"I hate to break up this moment we have going," Castle told his wife then as they looked back out to the water. When he felt her head rise from his shoulder again he told her, "They're coming back."

"Walking back," Beckett said as the two women were dragging their boards through the sand behind them.

"Got tired," Skye called when she was close enough to them to do so. "We're out of shape I think."

"I don't think so," Beckett replied. "But you had a fun time?"

"Oh sure, marvelous even," Mary said. "What?" she asked when her wife stopped and turned to her.

"Snagglepuss?" Skye asked.

"Did I sound like him?" Mary asked, trying not to laugh.

"A little," Castle said. "Oh we're packing up?" he said as the two women then started to walk past him and Beckett.

"It's been two hours so we need to head up if we're to have some time to change," Skye told them. "We'll be back."

With the four of them getting everything off the beach it took little time for them to go up to the house where they split up to use the outdoor shower to rinse off, Skye and Mary going up to the deck to watch the ocean as they waited.

"All set," Beckett called to the women as she was the first up the steps. "We'll see you in the family room?"

"You will, you're sure it's okay if we're there for the conversation," Skye replied.

"It's fine," Beckett said in assurance. "We'll see you."

As they walked up the stairs Castle said, "You're thinking the same as I am."

"What they're doing right now again?" Beckett asked. She smiled when her husband nodded and looked at a nearby clock in the bedroom before she said, "They're finished with dinner so likely waiting in the family room for us. Playing something."

"That's what I thought too," Castle said with a nod. He took her hand and squeezed it, her responding pressure on his own letting him know that she was thinking the same; that they were both wishing again they could be with their daughters.

* * *

"Grandpapa, here!" Eliza cried out as she stood on the edge of the pool, braced to jump in. When he came over to her she launched herself into the air as much as she could before she landed in the water.

"That was very nice, you're getting pretty good at that," Jim told his youngest granddaughter. "But you know you need to get out honey, we both do."

Eliza wanted to protest that but she saw the expression on his face and since her sisters were drying off outside the pool she let him carry her out, sighing as he did so. "Don't wanna Grandpapa," she told him, feeling like saying that still.

"I know but you'll probably go swimming tomorrow," Jim told her.

"Kay," Eliza said before he set her down and started to dry her off.

"So now what are we doing?" Julia asked her grandfather and sister.

"We'll get dinner ready," Alexis answered after glancing at Jim. At his nod he said, "We'll all help okay?"

"What are we making?" Julia asked. "That we can help with."

"Some tacos," Jim said. "You'll have to make your own so there you'll help." He exchanged a smile with Alexis when Eliza squealed slightly in reaction to what he'd said. He gathered the girls and with them walking ahead of him and Castle's daughter they went up to the house.

Eliza rushed around the kitchen as she watched her grandfather and sister making the tacos until Julia grabbed her to help her set the table. "Mommy and Daddy now?" she asked her as they were walking around.

"No not yet," Julia told her. "After we eat dinner, I bet they're swimming right now still."

"Lucky," Eliza replied, pouting slightly.

Smiling Julia set down the last plate and she wrapped her arms around her little sister as tightly as she could saying, "We swam almost all day too."

"Yeah," Eliza said after thinking for a moment. She then said, "Play after?"

"After dinner?" Julia asked as Alexis was coming over with some bowls. When the young woman nodded to her she quickly said, "We can. But we have to have dinner first."

Eliza giggled and then went back to the kitchen saying, "Have to have," repeatedly.

"Come here Eliza," Jim said, taking her hand. He pulled her over to the fridge and got her some milk before leading her to the table.

Everyone stood around the table as they got everything they wanted on their tacos and then sat down to eat. The meal was quiet at first but Julia was first to break the silence as she asked about the next day. It took their conversation through the end of the meal as they were starting and stopping getting more tacos a few times. When they had finished and cleaned up they all went to the family room and Eliza ran to the cabinet where their games were as soon as they were inside.

"What do you want to play?" Julia asked once she had joined her sister.

"That," Eliza said.

"Grandpapa," Julia said, turning to him.

"What?" Jim asked, surprised at that. When she motioned him over he went to his granddaughters and saw what Julia was indicating. "Have they let your sister play this with you?" he asked as he couldn't recall playing Clue with Eliza there.

"They have," Alexis said. "Only once but that was recently; they decided she could be around. Why did you ask Jules?"

"Because Mommy and Daddy aren't here," Julia explained easily.

"But we are," Jim said, taking the game out. "Are you sure you want us to play this because you'll have to play with either me or Alexis," he directed to the toddler.

"Yes please," Eliza said immediately in response.

"Okay," Jim said, still surprised.

"Wait could we play this?" Julia asked quickly as she picked up the fishing game that was her little sister's. "Really fast and then Clue?"

"We can but only one time," Jim said to Eliza who was looking up at him hopefully. At her nod he watched Julia pick it up and then followed them to the coffee table, setting the Clue game down at the end out of the way.

Sitting on her knees as she took the fishing rod for the game Eliza bounced up and down as Jim turned on the board and she hurried to catch the fish inside until it stopped moving around. "I count them?" she asked the others.

"Go ahead," Alexis replied. "We'll help if you need it."

Nodding Eliza looked at her grandfather's fish and counted out, "One, two, three, four."

"Right what about mine?" Julia asked her then. She was surprised when her little sister shook her head and instead pointed to the ones Alexis had caught.

"One, two, three, four," Eliza said. "The same."

"Right," the young woman said with a smile, leaning over to kiss her cheek gently.

"One, two, three, four, five," Eliza then counted in front of Julia. "That's more."

"One more," the little girl replied, holding up her index finger. "And now you."

"One, two, three, four, five," Eliza counted. She giggled heavily and said, "We get to win."

"You did very nicely," Jim said as he helped the three get the fish back into the spaces on the board. "Are we ready for Clue now?"

Laughing with the others as Eliza had begun to jump up and down happily in response to that, Alexis reached out for her and hugging her asked, "Who do you want to play with?"

Looking back and forth a few times between the two Eliza finally pointed to Jim and whispered an apology to her sister. When Alexis kissed her temple and said it was alright she smiled and hugged her grandfather tightly as they watched the young woman and Julia getting the board game ready for them. "Who are you?" she asked him as they were setting out the game pieces in their places.

"What color do you want?" Jim asked. When she pointed at the red piece he nodded and after they had the evidence cards set he said to the toddler, "Want to shake the dice?"

Nodding rapidly Eliza took them from Julia and shook them between her hands as her family had taught her to do. She giggled as she did that for a while and then threw them to the board. She thought someone else was going to say what they got when her sisters and grandfather urged her to count. "One, two, three… four… five, six… seven, eight?" she counted out, hesitating a little bit.

"Right, now Julia's turn," Jim said as the little girl picked the dice up.

Shaking them out Julia then counted out the dots for her sister saying, "One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven."

"That's lots," Eliza said in a slightly matter of fact tone of voice. When the others nodded she clapped and said, "Now you 'lexis!"

Picking the dice up, Alexis shook them in her hands and let them fall to the board, counting out, "One, two, three, six."

"No!" Eliza protested before she giggled at the laughter of her sisters and grandfather. "One, two, three, four 'lexis!"

"That's right," Alexis said with a nod. "So who goes first?"

"Jules!" Eliza cried out loudly.

With that Julia picked up the dice again and began to move towards one of the rooms, starting the game. They played for only ten minutes when Jim's phone screen suddenly lit up with a text message.

"That's them," he said after seeing it was from his daughter. He set Eliza back down on the ground before he watched Alexis turning on the TV and getting it set to Skype.

When Castle and Beckett appeared on the screen they laughed at the same time when they saw their daughters were focused on the board game that was behind them.

"Guys?" Castle told them.

"Hi Mommy! Daddy!" Eliza cried, her sister echoing her eagerly.

"Hey Julia, Eliza," Beckett said with a smile. "It looks like you're having a lot of fun."

"We are playing," Eliza pronounced carefully and seriously.

"We can see that, looks like you're playing Clue," Castle said.

Nodding Eliza was going to speak when she noticed something behind her parents and asked, "Who is that?"

"That's our friend Skye, she came to visit us last summer with her daughters; they're twins," Beckett answered.

"Oh, kay," Eliza said, though she couldn't remember them. "Did you fly with her?"

"I flew the plane," Skye called. "And you've gotten bigger it looks like Eliza."

Giggling as the woman was coming up to the screen Eliza nearly started to hide behind her sister when she saw that the woman was holding a paper. Her curiosity got the better of her and she asked, "That?"

"This is for you," Skye replied, handing the paper to the toddler's parents. "Hopefully you'll like it."

"Oooh, horsie!" Eliza cried out in joy at the picture of a plane with a horse jumping over a fence on it. "For me?" When the woman nodded she cried out her thanks before she said, "When do I see?"

"Soon, Monday morning we'll show it to you as soon as you get up," Castle replied, looking at the picture in closer detail.

"Kay," Eliza said. "Did you swim?"

"We did but we want to hear about your day first," Beckett said as Skye left them.

"So do we," Mary then called.

"You're Skye's wife aren't you?" Julia asked. At the woman's nod she said, "Are Marie and Kathleen having fun now it's summer?"

"Definitely, they spent all day today with their grandfather, like you both did," Skye answered for her wife.

"What did you do?" Castle asked to bring them back to the conversation.

"Oh we stayed around the pool," Julia said quickly. When she saw her father smiling, she said, "You guessed."

"It was a lucky one, for all I could have known you went to the beach," Castle replied. "So you had fun?"

"I jumped Daddy but I had fun," Eliza said firmly.

"I can imagine," Beckett said, Castle nodding in agreement with her. "And after?"

"We had tacos for dinner," Julia said. "And we made them on our own."

"And then you played," Castle supplied.

"My fishie game," Eliza said. "And then we played in the house."

"We're still playing," Julia said. "And I was gonna guess before you called."

"You want to do that now?" Jim asked.

"Go ahead," Alexis said, smiling as Castle and Beckett did so too on the screen.

"Yeah, it was Professor Plum in the library with the wrench," Julia said after looking at her slip of paper.

"Check the cards in the envelope," Beckett urged her.

"I was right!" Julia exclaimed. She laughed when Eliza threw her arms around her as she was squealing and she told her, "Thanks Lizzy but let's finish talking with Mommy and Daddy."

Nodding her head Eliza turned her head back to the screen and said, "Now you Mommy, Daddy."

"Well we had breakfast with Skye and Mary," Beckett said, glancing at the two women who were back at the table behind them. She smiled when they waved and then said, "Then we went down to the beach. And guess what?" When the girls asked what she told them, "Mary taught your daddy how to surf a little bit."

"A very little bit," Castle was quick to say when Julia and Eliza looked at him in surprise. "But it was fun."

"Are you going to surf here now?" Julia asked.

"Probably not," Castle replied. "But one day I'll try it out when were somewhere with really good waves."

"What about you Mommy?" Julia asked.

"Yeah Mommy," Eliza said.

"I didn't, I like paddleboarding more," Beckett said, smiling at the tone of the toddler's voice. "But your daddy and I swam, went out on those paddleboards again and also went to see the tide pools there are."

"And then you did more swimming?" Julia suggested. At her parents' nod she said, "And then you came up here to call us."

"We did," Castle answered. "So it was a fun day but of course we missed all of you."

"We miss you but you're gonna come home soon," Julia was quick to point out.

"That's true," Castle said. "Very soon. So I guess we should let them go?"

"We should, someone has to be in bed," Beckett said. She laughed softly when Eliza wrinkled her nose and said, "I'll say goodnight now to you both. And I love you Julia, Eliza."

"Love you Mommy," Julia was first to say.

"Love you too Mommy, lots, lots," Eliza hurried to then tell her.

Smiling at their sincerity Castle then said, "I love you too Julia, Eliza. Sweet dreams tonight okay?"

"Kay love you Daddy," Eliza said.

"I love you too Daddy, night and have fun with your friends," Julia said next.

"Night Alexis," Castle told his daughter. "Love you kiddo."

"Thanks Dad, I love you too," the young woman told him. "Night Kate, see you tomorrow."

"Right, we'll call the loft tomorrow morning since you're heading out in the morning," Beckett told her stepdaughter. "And Dad, I love you."

"I love you too Katie," Jim said, smiling at her. "Goodnight Castle."

"Goodnight Jim," he replied before Alexis hung up on the other end. "Alright so time to get dinner prepared."

"Do you need our help?" Skye asked, following the two into the kitchen.

"We're good," Castle said. "But you mind setting the table?"

"Not a problem, which one?" Mary asked. "Or should I have bothered to ask?"

"I think we can all agree the weather is very nice today love," Skye said. "But first, I have the picture for you to see."

"Now we can look at it," Castle said, looking over as the investigator grabbed one of the ones on the table next to the kitchen.

"Oh that's beautiful," Beckett said. "You based this off a photograph?"

"One I took when we went to the Muir Woods," Skye said. "The shot was just… perfect." She studied the plane that had a redwood forest all over it instead of just a section and said, "Well, it'll get the point across that those will be redwoods."

"It's a great design," Castle assured her. "By the way thanks for the picture for Eliza."

"I was wondering why you were asking us if she liked horses too," Beckett said.

"My pleasure would you two like one yourselves?" Skye said.

"She drew you one already," Mary said quickly before the two could respond to that. "Go on and get it _grá_."

Smiling when her wife nudged her towards the table, Skye picked up one of the pictures and handed it over to Beckett saying, "I based it off a photograph you sent me."

"It's Dunmore Head," Beckett said as she showed it to her husband.

"That's amazing," Castle said. "It looks just like the picture. Thank you."

"When you mentioned not getting planes for your bedroom I got inspired to draw that," Skye replied with a shrug, looking a little embarrassed. "I'm not saying it should go in your bedroom, just that you should have your own plane since your daughters have them now."

"Thank you, again," Beckett said, hugging her friend tightly. "We'll find a place for this you can be sure."

"Our office," Castle then said, "Which is great since it'll be seen there by us of course."

"Of course," Skye said. "So while you're getting dinner started I will see if I can't begin the kelp forest plane."

Beckett watched the woman and her wife sit at the table before she tore herself away to begin helping Castle cook. She took care of the honey chicken and chow mein, going as quickly as she could before they were starting to plate everything while Skye and Mary were getting the drinks and table outside set. When everything was ready, she joined the others in gathering around the table before they sat together and looked at the sun beginning to set before they turned their attention to their meal at nearly the same time.

"So I suppose a toast is in order… though honestly we don't normally do this every meal," Skye said first, picking up her glass of wine.

"Neither do we, it tends to be holidays or with company," Castle said, nodding at the end.

"Still, to your trip. I hope that what wasn't part of the investigation was a good one," Skye said. "And thank you again."

"Thank you for letting us come here," Beckett said as they tapped glasses together. When they'd begun to eat she waited for a little before she finally said, "There's something I wanted to ask you before but didn't think of until you two were in the water."

"Concerning what?" Mary asked since she was talking to both herself and her wife.

"You know George Harrison's solo work," Beckett said. "Do you know how to slide?"

"Oh yeah I didn't even think of that," Castle said, turning to the two women.

Smiling a little Skye said, "We do, we learned together and we're fairly good. Not as good as George but we don't mangle his songs which is of course the goal." She took a sip of her wine and then with a wider smile asked, "You want us to show you after dinner?"

"Definitely," Castle said. He laughed when his wife glanced at him and he told her, "I'm interested in seeing that close up. Maybe you can get a few pointers to learn?"

"If I want to learn," Beckett said, shaking her head though she was smiling slightly. She then turned to the two women and asked what else they could do after they ate.

After thinking briefly Skye said, "Maybe play a game." She looked to her wife and asked, "We do have something here right?"

"Something," Mary replied with a brief incline of her head, looking like she was thinking too. "We do have cards."

"Should try and do both, it's Saturday night," Skye said. She then asked, "You two ever go out to clubs?"

"Once in a while we will," Castle replied. "She likes going," he said as he nodded to Beckett.

"Which means he does as well," Skye said.

"Which means it's the dancing," Mary added.

At her husband's surprised expression, Beckett laughed softly and said, "True but I do enjoy it too of course. You two?"

"I'm not the biggest fan of that kind of dancing… well, in public," Mary said.

"We did learn to dance together, around the beginning of our marriage, she wanted to learn Flamenco so we learned the Sevillanas," Skye answered. "But we don't really dance it much so you know."

"Show her," Castle said quickly, pointing to his wife.

"Is there a part of you he's not so obsessed with?" Skye asked Beckett in amusement.

"After six years together… no, I don't think so," she replied. Laughing with the investigator Beckett then said, "But that would be interesting to see, not now of course."

"Later of course," Mary said.

With some laughter between them the four went back to the meal until they'd finished and Castle and Mary started to clear the table before the other two could.

"We're… alright," Skye said with a sigh as she tried to wrestle her plate out of her wife's hands but she wouldn't let it go. "I'll work on my drawing then if you don't mind."

"Wait, Skye," Beckett said quickly as the woman was standing. "Do you mind if I talk to you first?"

"Sure," Skye said, concerned as she could tell her friend was serious. "What's wrong?"

"No just something I need to talk to you about," Beckett replied.

Looking back at the house and seeing that Mary had closed the door behind her Skye said, "Alright go ahead since it looks like they're cleaning up."

"You know Julia," Beckett said, not sure how exactly to start until settling on that. "When you've been around her, seen her, have you noticed anything about her personality?"

"I think you mean sexuality," Skye said, sitting back in her chair.

Nodding Beckett said, "Rick and I think there's a good chance she could be gay."

"I'd have to agree," Skye replied. "Mary would too if we'd spoken about it but we never have, no reason to. Why are you speaking to me about it?"

"I'm wondering if there's anything I should do for her if she is? While she's growing up do I need to be more… anything," Beckett said before ending with a shrug.

"Well you'll be supportive already I'm sure, you'll still love her the same and you'll be there for her should she need it," Skye said. "So beyond that no, you just need to be ready to accept in your mind that your daughter is going to want to be with a girl… a woman."

"It's not that hard to do," Beckett said easily.

"Then Julia's very lucky," Skye said.

"Did you have problems with your dad?" Beckett asked.

"You know he's gay too right?" Skye asked. At the slightly startled expression on her friend's face she said, "He is but he doesn't date anymore. So I was lucky in that, though I didn't know he was gay until I came out to him."

"He never acted… as he was?" Beckett said as she was careful in her wording of that.

"He didn't want someone taking me from him thinking he'd taught me to be gay," Skye replied. "But that was always with me, never took much notice of boys when I was a kid or as a teen and definitely not men when I became an adult. More so then." She smiled a little, shaking her head, before she then asked, "There is one thing I'd advise but whether or not you do it is entirely up to you. Are you going to teach her family life?"

"That was my intention," Beckett said. She then realized something and said, "That'll be next year," as she sat back in her chair in amazement.

"It happens fast but with that…" Skye started to say. She hesitated but when Beckett urged her to continue she did so saying, "My dad, when he'd finished telling me about family life, told me that two men and two women could be intimate together; it's how he worded it."

"Did he go into detail?" Beckett asked, slight surprise on her face at that.

"No, I eventually learned about it myself," Skye replied. "But he later told me he'd said that to me because he didn't want me thinking I was sick for wanting what I did with another woman. So that was a huge help because knowing that men and women couples kissed and held hands but thinking two women couldn't was scaring me."

"When did you realize you were gay?" Beckett asked.

Smiling at that, since she'd never been asked that by her friend before, Skye said, "Been wondering when that'd come up. And it was in college, my second year. The girl across the hall from me was… she was kind of like a younger version of Mary though shorter and no glasses. But she was straight and had a boyfriend and I tried to ignore her which I was able to do, just passing it off as a phase because I was in college. But at some point I started thinking about that idea and realized when I look at a hetero couple my attention constantly goes to the woman, never the guy. So it was then I realized who I was. Luckily what my dad had told me before I remembered so I didn't freak out. I came out to him the next day and from then on I've kept myself out of the closet because it's difficult there; being what you're not to the world."

"Should we hint to Julia to do that too?" Beckett asked. "If she's struggling with that?"

"No better to let her do so on her own time," Skye said. "But; and this is very important; please, please hint to her that you'll love her no matter what and support her through anything."

"I'd had that thought," Beckett said with a nod. She was then quiet and said, "I'm a little… concerned about doing this."

"You'll do great," Skye assured her, squeezing her arm as they were sitting next to each other. "You're a great mother already and with the fact you're talking to me about this you've accepted the possibility of her being gay. So you and Rick are going to be great parents."

Beckett nodded to thank her for the compliment and then heard her laugh softly asking, "What?"

"No just had a thought of something that has nothing to do with your daughter," Skye told her quickly. "You took to calling him by his first name quickly. I've always wondered how that happened."

"It was after Eliza was born," Beckett said easily. "I talked to him about it and I decided, since both our daughters had his last name our youngest was going to find it a little strange I called him that instead of his first name. So we started calling one another by our first names and just use last names when we're working you may have noticed."

"I did," Skye said with a smile. She was about to open her mouth to say something else when the door behind the table opened.

"Hey, we're all set in here," Mary said. "Had enough girlfriend talk?"

" _Grá_ ," Skye groaned, rolling her eyes at that.

"I think that was my husband's phrase," Beckett said wryly as she walked over to the doorway.

"Well you looked to be in serious conversation," Castle said defensively though his wife kissed his cheek when she reached him. "We found a game though, Life."

"That's fine," Beckett said, seeing Skye nodding in agreement as they went to the table.

"I was going to make Irish coffee for us, you two want- okay, I'll get those set," Castle started to say when his wife and Skye nodded to that. He headed over to the kitchen and as he was preparing the drinks he listened to them setting up the game at the table with Mary.

When they had finished Skye suddenly recalled something and stood saying, "Nearly forgot the guitars."

"Are the coffees done?" Mary asked Castle.

"They are but they're hot so you can play right now," he told them.

"Alright then you should follow us," Skye said, leading the way back to the living room. When she got inside she went to the Rickenbacker and plugged it into an amp that Mary dragged out over to them. Once it was on and she was sure the electric guitar was set she began to play and used the pipe on her left ring finger. She played a number of chords until she stopped and said, "That'll be one of George's songs."

" _Cheer Down_ I think," Castle said. At Skye's nod he said, "You are good, it sounds really close to the original song."

Smiling at that Skye stood up and handed the guitar and pipe to her wife who then played a few chords from the song _My Sweet Lord_. Nodding she said, "It's a fun technique but we only use it when we're playing his songs."

"I've tried to experiment with it," Mary said as she and Skye put everything back to normal and then went with the other two to the kitchen table. "But I find it's better suited to George's songs."

"Still you're both good at that," Beckett said.

"Now time to see if we're as accomplished with this game," Skye said jokingly. "Rick I'm sorry, you'll need to use the yellow piece."

"There's still orange," Castle said, shaking his head when Mary started to pick up the piece. "I'll stick with yellow; it's usually what… you told them that's what I play with at home."

"Mmm-hmm," Beckett said simply before she shared a smile with him.

Beginning the game Skye took a sip of her coffee and said, "Nicely done but you brought in the Jameson's didn't you?"

"Does your dad like it?" Castle asked.

"He does so he'll be pleased to have what's left and the other bottle," Skye replied before she spun for her next move.

The game went on until Skye was the first to reach the point where she had to get 'married' and she placed a pink peg next to her own. "Does she ever do that?" she then asked Beckett.

"She has," she answered, looking at her husband.

"You talked to her about Julia?" Castle asked. When his wife nodded he said, "Great, what did she say?"

Smiling at that Skye said, "Why don't I let you know?" And she and Beckett quickly related their conversation to the other two. "So that's a sign she may be," she finally said when they'd finished, nodding to the board game.

"She doesn't do it every time," Castle said. "But when she uses a blue peg she does watch us before we continue."

"She's looking to see if you approve more of her putting the blue peg," Mary said.

"I thought that too," Skye agreed. "Do you show preference for one over the other?" When the couple shook their heads she smiled and said, "Better you not mention anything. She shouldn't equate your approval with who she is."

"I forget you have a degree in psychology," Castle commented. "All the time."

"I put it in use more when I'm working," Skye said simply. "Let's get back to the game as I would like to finish and play a round of poker."

"For money?" Beckett asked as Skye spun again.

"Just chips but I'd like to see how we fare against each other," the investigator replied, moving her car piece.

"We were nearly tied last summer weren't we?" Castle said.

"It was close," Beckett said in remembrance as they played nearly every night the couple had been guests in their home the summer before.

"We can continue and see if that's the same," Mary said as she went next and had to stop to get 'married' as well.

"I want to predict it'll likely go the same way," Castle said.

"A psychic now?" Skye asked him with a smile on her face.

"I try," Castle replied.

Going through the rest of the game the four spoke on and off about different things until they had finished with everyone 'retiring.' Counting out the money and tiles Castle ended up winning and the others let him deal the first hand of poker once the table was cleared for it.

"Tired?" Beckett asked Skye when the woman yawned.

"A bit but it's still early," the investigator said, looking at her watch. She nodded and said, "Barely past nine. Though do you two want to go to bed early for tomorrow?"  
"We don't need to," Castle answered, looking at his hand.

"I'd like to," Mary said. "What?" she said when her wife glanced at her. "Oh don't give me that. You were thinking the same; admit it."

"You don't know me," Skye said, though she couldn't keep the laughter out of her voice.

Watching the two Beckett smiled and after throwing a chip into the middle of the table said, "You follow a pattern don't you?"

"Ah I forgot to mention that when we were talking," Skye said. A quick look at Castle and she saw the confusion on his face at that before she explained, "When I realized I was gay it was because I found myself attracted to a woman who looked quite a lot like my wife, not fully, but a bit."

"I saw her at a function at UCLA," Mary said. "And she's right, she does look like me."

"You?" Castle asked Mary.

"The same as Skye but the glasses I hadn't thought of before," the woman replied, squeezing her wife's hand that was on the table between them.

"Stop trying to look at my hand," Skye said teasingly, though sounding pleased. She then turned to the two and told them, "It doesn't always happen though. You two?"

Looking at each other, Castle and Beckett then shook their heads no and the former said, "I guess you're right. So are we ready to show?"

"That we are," Skye said, putting down her hand as she and Mary were the only ones left in the game. "Thank you _grá_ ," she said when she saw she had a pair of aces and a pair of threes to her wife's pair of tens.

When the chips were cleared from the middle and the cards passed out again Castle looked over at the investigator a few times before he cleared his throat.

"You have something to say Rick?" Beckett asked him teasingly.

"Yes," Castle said simply, keeping his eyes down on his cards.

"Then out with it man," Skye said, slamming her fist down onto the table, making him jump.

"How is the group that you were talking about?" Castle said.

"It's going to be a slow process," Skye said, recalling telling them about the group she and Mary sent money to in Ireland. "Diplomacy can be sometimes but we're hoping it'll work in the end." She got another card and said, "Think you'll look for his family while you're there this summer?"

"Maybe," Castle said quickly before Beckett could answer.

Looking at her husband and able to tell he didn't want to talk about his father so directly anymore Beckett nodded and then said, "Check."

"I fold," Mary said, putting down her cards.

"I raise fifty," Skye said, tossing a chip into the middle.

Castle threw in a fifty chip himself before he watched his wife.

"I'll raise another fifty," Beckett said, smiling as Mary made a sound in surprise at that before Skye threw the box for the cards at her. "Weren't expecting that were you?"

"I wasn't," Castle said after the investigator had thrown in a chip. "I'll fold too."

"You know it's like watching a chess match between the two of you," Mary commented as her wife and Beckett were staring at each other closely.

"Another fifty," Beckett said, throwing another chip in.

"Another, I think that's enough though," Skye said, starting to laugh as she and Beckett couldn't do that for long without breaking down. "Straight."

"Damn, straight but you got the higher one," Beckett said with a smile. "Pretty good game though."

"Anyone want more coffee?" Castle asked. When the three nodded he got up and as he was doing so asked Mary and Skye, "Did you gamble when you were in Vegas?"

"I did but the machines," Skye replied.

"So did I love," Mary reminded her.

"Right, we both did and we did alright," Skye said. "But since we had the girls with us we didn't gamble too much."

"So there's enough to do with kids," Beckett said.

"Any time you two need to know we'll tell you," Mary replied.

"So are we playing more poker?" Skye asked the other two.

"She wants to play that Spanish game you taught us," Mary explained. "She got hooked on it."

"Mainly because we play it with the girls," Skye said, standing up. "No chips standing in for money of course. But we do use them so they can count…" she said, as her voice became fainter as she went to the living room.

"I love how she talks as she goes," Mary said, shaking her head though a smile was turning up the corner of her lips.

"She does that often?" Beckett asked.

"She does," Skye said, coming back over to them. "It's a habit I picked up from investigating. When you need to run and talk at the same time…"

"Makes sense," Castle said, giving a finished coffee to his wife.

"Ah we see who you favor," Mary said jokingly.

"Which makes sense too," Skye replied to that. She took the cards out of the deck and started to shuffle before dealing them out. "We'll hold on until you finish," she said as Castle came over with another cup for her. She slid it over to her wife and held up her hand up with her index finger up saying, "Now you know who I favor."

"Another thing making sense," Castle replied as he went back to the coffee machine to make two more cups. It took him a little longer but when he had finished he went to the table and sat down, picking up his deck. Looking at the tabletop he saw chips there and said, "I might get lucky today."

With that the game began and to Castle and Beckett's surprise the two women began to speak in Spanish, making them do the same as well. When they finished that round with Mary winning she took the cards and started to shuffle them together to get ready to deal them again.

" _Any reason we're speaking this_?" Beckett asked, keeping with the language.

" _To help you out_ ," Skye said easily as she looked at her hand and put the cards in order before she tossed out the five of coins to the middle of the table.

"It does help," Castle said. "Maybe we should talk in Irish too."

"You don't come across that too much," Mary said as she watched for him to put down a card or a chip. "But you two are good at that language. This one too to tell you the truth."

"We use it when we can," Beckett said, putting down a card then. "How did you learn to speak Castilian?"

"My dad, he learned himself since his mother was from Spain," Skye replied. "And I learned from him and taught Mary."

" _That took a while_ ," she said. When she glanced at Castle and Beckett and saw the two were looking at her in surprise she laughed a little and told them, " _It did because I was used to hearing non-Castilian here so I had to get used to that kind of speaking_."

" _You learned really well_ ," Castle complimented her as he went next.

"Thank you but stop trying to look at what I have," Mary told him teasingly.

" _From this far_ ," Castle said in protest before he laughed with her.

" _Go next love_ ," Skye said, nudging her wife in the side.

" _Okay, okay, hold on_ ," Mary said before she threw a chip in.

When that game had finished Castle had won and as he pulled the chips in he said in English, "I guess I was a little premature calling the game."

"Slightly," Beckett said.

"Alright well that last coffee did me in," Mary said. "So I'll head down to sleep."

"We were thinking of taking you two to the _Orange Inn_ tomorrow morning for breakfast," Beckett said as the two women across from her and Castle stood up.

"That's really nice of you but…" Skye started to say in protest before she trailed off. "We'd be delighted to come but let us get lunch for you, whatever that is."

"Too late to think about," Mary sighed. "Goodnight you two, enjoy the rest of your night."

Murmuring a goodnight after Skye had told them that Beckett watched them leave before she helped Castle get the mugs to the sink where he started to wash them. "I'll step out for some fresh air," she told him. "Just for a second."

"Yeah I'll let you know when I'm done," Castle told her, looking down at the mug he was cleaning. He turned his head when he felt her hand on his shoulder, kissing her briefly before she left him.

Going onto the deck, Beckett looked out at the ocean though she couldn't see much with the darkness. She looked down at the beach and was a little startled to see that Skye was standing at the railing on the upper level outside of the apartment, her gaze on the ocean too. She smiled and was about to look back up when Mary stepped out into view.

"Come on love," Mary said as she wrapped her arms around her slightly taller wife, pressing her cheek to the back of her shoulder. "You should get some rest."

"I'm a little afraid," Skye replied.

"I know but come on, we'll make sure you don't have that nightmare again," Mary replied, making her turn around.

Beckett stepped back a little when the two began to kiss, and passionately, not wanting them to know she had overheard that or had seen them. She smiled then as she had been able to tell again how close the two were but that time being able to tell the women's relationship was physical as well as emotional. She thought she heard footsteps and went back to the railing since her husband was still inside. But when she got to it she saw the two were still there, though their foreheads were pressed together by then. Before she could move again Mary pulled away and grabbed her wife's hand and judging by the smile on Skye's face Beckett could almost sense the responding one that was spread across the investigator's wife's lips. She heard the door close and she nearly jumped as at the same time Castle joined her, putting his hand on her back.

"What is it?" he asked, looking down where he'd seen she had been gazing.

"Let's head back inside," Beckett told him with a smile, taking his hand so they could go.

Inside the master bedroom a few minutes later Castle said, "Funny you became the voyeur today."

"I did not Rick," Beckett said, going out from the bathroom to the bed, changed into her pink jersey shirt and shorts. "I had thought they'd gone back in, I should have known Skye wanted one last look at the water."

"It's nice to know though that they are in love," Castle said. "I feel bad for them; they still have to suppress a lot even though they don't hide who they are."

"That's what I was thinking too," Beckett said, watching him come over to her. "You're not that tired are you?"

"No those coffees helped me out," Castle replied. "I'm surprised they said… oh."

Laughing softly, Beckett said, "Took you a while to figure that out."

"I tend to think of you that way more," Castle replied.

"So is that every six seconds idea true?" Beckett asked him teasingly.

"It is," Castle said, reaching over and setting down his phone on his nightstand. He looked over his shoulder at his wife as he felt the bed moving and when she wrapped her arms around his shoulders from behind said, "How does that work for women?"

"I don't know," Beckett said, kissing the back of his head. "But ignore that for at least a second Rick, how are you?"

Knowing what she meant, Castle said, "I'm fine, it's getting easier to set him aside. But I'm trying to remember what he did give me. My Irish-ness, my jaw. Did I ever tell you about who I actually look like more than my great grandfather?"

"Your uncle?" Beckett asked him.

"Yeah and his and my mother's father, I've shown you pictures of them both," Castle said. When his wife nodded he knew she had recalled before answering and he then added, "His jaw wasn't so… chiseled, and handsome." He chuckled when he felt her shove the back of his shoulder and said, "Yeah, I'm guessing I got that from my great grandfather."

"Your grandmother is a part of you," Beckett told him then as she could sense that he was faltering a little trying to think of more. "I think you likely got the being a good parent from her."

"She does sound like she was a great mother doesn't she?" Castle said, looking back at her before she quickly nodded in agreement. He sighed deeply and told her, "I wish I could have known her."

Beckett hugged him tighter then, pressing her cheek against the side of his head, not needing to say anything as she knew he would be able to feel her sympathy in her embrace. When he squeezed her hand she was a little surprised when he pulled on it then, moving her around until she was sitting on his lap. She smiled at him tenderly and leaned against him, kissing him before he could do that to her. When his hands tightened on the small of her back she let the kiss go on for a little more before breaking it off, shaking her head.

"What?" Castle asked, a little taken aback by her gesture.

"I think things would be much better like this," Beckett said, not sure if the noticeable seductive tinge to her voice was voluntary or not. She didn't care as she was too busy drawing her husband back with her on the bed where she sat on her knees, reaching for the hem of her shirt. When she pulled it off she was suddenly laughing as Castle was making her lay back, kissing furiously at her breasts. Her laugh quickly slipped into a moan, easily done, and she held him to her tightly as she started to try and get his shirt off of him.

Castle groaned in frustration as he literally tore himself away from her to get his clothes off. As soon as they were all off and tossed to the floor he lay on top of her again, unabashedly undulating against her.

"Oh god… Rick, wait," Beckett gasped as she was still half dressed. She nearly smiled at his second groan and she helped him when he moved away to get off her shorts, smirking at him when he froze after seeing she'd been naked under them. "I was feeling daring," she teased him. The way his blue eyes nearly became black right in front of her almost took her breath away and she suddenly became serious telling him, " _Here_ Rick, _feel how much I want you_."

Shuddering at the mixture of her words and the fact they were in Irish, Castle leaned down and kissed her roughly before he entered her. When he did he was speechless for a few seconds before he was able to tell her, " _Let me show you how much I want you_ Kate." And with that he began to take her as she moaned heavily, feeling her pleasure while she gave him his own in the perfect synchronicity of their bodies that didn't seem to end. And he knew then they were in for a long night as their desire for reach other rose each second that passed, a thrill filling him at the thought and making him do what he could to show her how much he loved her and needed her; something he would end up repeating through their night.


	16. Something For My Soul

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The title of this chapter is a lyric from the song Turned Out by Paul McCartney, from his album New.

Reaching down with her fingers to touch her husband's lower lip Beckett watched him closely as he raised his hand to brush them away. She smiled when he slightly wrinkled his nose when she didn't stop until he was opening his eyes. "Morning," she said.

"How long were you doing that?" Castle asked, sounding a little groggy.

"Not long," Beckett replied before she leaned down to just gently brush her lips against his. "We're not packed."

"I know do you want to go to the beach though?" Castle said, sitting up as she moved out of his way. He glanced down at her naked body; since they hadn't bothered to use the bed sheet; and said, "Our things will be wet."

"We can dry them out in the sun," Beckett answered easily. "We just can't stay that long."

"Swimming only?" Castle asked, reaching up then and brushing her hair behind her shoulder.

"I think that'll be enough," Beckett said, a smile playing across her lips as she watched him looking at her intently. "You have that look," she told him.

"What?" Castle asked, shaking himself from her to look at her face.

"Last night wasn't enough for you?" Beckett commented as she was just barely brushing her fingertips over his chest.

"I don't think it was enough for you," Castle shot back as he placed his hands on the small of her back to pull her to him.

"It wasn't," Beckett breathed before she leaned over to meet his lips which were descending on hers.

The two nearly threw their arms around each other as soon as they had begun their kiss and they started to touch each other. It was frantic grabbing and then caressing as Castle laid Beckett back on the bed. Without a word to each other they began to prepare themselves to make love in some way; unsure of how they were going to yet. But just as he was going to slide into her at her urging, Beckett's phone rang next to them and they both groaned at nearly the same time.

"Hello?" she asked once she'd gotten up off the bed and answered her phone. She brushed Castle's hand away from her, as he'd followed her but remained on the bed, sitting on his knees. She patted the left and when he shook his head turned her attention to Skye who was on the other end.

"Sorry to wake you up," the woman said. "But we weren't sure what time you wanted to go."

"Oh you didn't wake us up," Beckett said, giving her husband a look when he tried to pull her to him again. "We were up. But is a half hour enough?" she asked.

"Yeah that's fine, we'll come up to the house," Skye said.

Saying goodbye to the woman, Beckett set her phone back down on the nightstand before saying, "So we-" She was cut off when her husband grabbed her roughly, pulling her to him. She wasn't sure how he was able to do it exactly but he was suddenly making her straddle him. She recovered at that point and lowered herself fast onto him, groaning out loud before she said, "I bought us enough time."

"More than enough," Castle groaned as she started to move. At that point he kissed his wife deeply and that ended any conversation the two would have.

They were very rough with one another as they knew they couldn't take their time; and didn't want to either. They switched their positions and finished off that bout moving together so hard they could hear the protest of the bed beneath them. When they'd both reached their nearly mutual high they were a little loath to stop but eventually their bodies forced them to.

Running her hand down the back of her husband's head once, Beckett said, "I don't know if I hate those quickies or not."

"Once in a while they're nice to have," Castle said. "But yeah have to ease up on how many times we do that."

"Ease up?" Beckett asked in amusement as he slowly got off of her then. "We barely do them in the first place. So you want us to stop?"

Shrugging Castle said, "I don't care, I just don't want to stop."

"You need some coffee," Beckett said, leaning over and kissing him gently on the lips. "And so do I, let's get going."

Sighing Castle carefully pulled away from his wife before he then realized something and said, "What time is it?"

"Eight thirty," Beckett said. "We have a little less than fifteen minutes."

"Okay," Castle said simply before he reached for her as he was getting off the bed at the same time. He held her to him and kissed her deeply, cupping her cheek with his hand gently at the same time. When they finally parted, taking their time with that sensual kiss, he said, "That'll hold me for now."

Smiling at the slight nod he'd given her at the same time, Beckett said, "It's going to take a while to stop isn't it?"

"We're not that old," Castle said, finally forcing himself to let her go.

"No but still I don't think we follow the norm," Beckett said, starting to put her bikini on as her husband was watching her.

"When have we ever?" Castle asked. He pulled on his trunks and then a shirt before saying, "I'm looking forward to tonight you have no clue."

"Me too," Beckett said, going over to him before turning around so he could zip her up. When he had finished she turned around to face him, wrapping her arms around his neck and murmuring to him, "Happy Father's Day Rick."

"Thanks," Castle said, taking her embrace. "You'll have to tell your dad that."

"I'll text him," Beckett said, kissing his cheek before she let him go and then watched him look her up and down a few times. "My cover up is still drying," she told him wryly.

"Well… you can't blame me for wanting to see you wet in it," Castle replied. "Plus naked underneath the dress. You brought this?"

"I had a feeling we might be going to the beach, so another cover up wouldn't hurt," Beckett answered simply, in a sundress. "Ready?" she asked after she had finished brushing her hair. At his nod she went to the door, a little startled to hear voices down at the front door. "When did you guys get in?" she asked.

"Not too long ago," Skye said with a smile as she glanced at her wife.

"It's soundproof?" Castle asked, pointing back to the room.

"It is, the previous owners had six kids so when they built the house they made the master soundproof except the windows of course," Skye replied.

"Which is nice, since you can hear the ocean," Mary added.

"Definitely is," Castle said as they headed down the stairs. "So you're in a dress too."

"Someone insisted," Skye said in annoyance as she looked down at her sundress before rolling her eyes. "And you too."

"I have my swim suit under," Beckett said simply.

"As do I," Skye said before she followed her wife out the door. She walked with Beckett out to the street and said, "It'll be a shame we couldn't take the two of you out here and there a little."

"Someday we'll come back," Beckett replied. When they reached the highway she said, "What are you going to do?"

"Wait for my dad and our daughters to get here," Skye replied easily. She then turned to Castle and called to him, "Happy Father's Day."

"Thanks," he said back, smiling slightly.

"He's doing alright?" Skye asked her friend as she looked ahead again.

"I think so, the idea of us being able to spend tomorrow with the girls is enough," Beckett said. She sighed and said, "I just wish we could have given him breakfast in bed today." Her mind couldn't help wander back to the month before as Skye nodded in sympathy, her memories of that year's Mother's Day still prevalent in her mind especially the morning when she'd been woken up by her family.

* * *

_Tiptoeing to the bed Eliza stopped at the edge of it and studying her mother for a moment, reached out and gently poked her arm. "Mommy?" she whispered. When she got no response she did that again before saying louder, "Mommy! Up, wake up!"_

_Her eyes opening at that, Beckett sat up and asked, "What is it?" thinking there was something wrong._

_"Happy Mommy day!" Eliza cried out._

_"Mother's," Julia whispered as she hurried after her sister. "And we were gonna say it together."_

_Smiling at the two before she looked up at her husband entering with a tray in hand, Beckett told their daughters, "Well you can tell me now since she didn't say it exactly right."_

_"Happy Mother's Day!" Julia and Eliza said proudly._

_"Thank you," Beckett said, unable to keep the laughter out of her voice. She picked Eliza up and waited for Julia to climb up after her before she gathered them into her arms. "Hmm, that was a wonderful surprise."_

_"It was?" Eliza asked earnestly._

_"It was," Beckett confirmed before leaning over to press her lips against the toddler's temple. She looked up at Castle was he walked over to the bed, handing her some delphinium in a vase that she took with her right hand._

_"Those are from Daddy," Julia said as she and her sister leaned in to smell the light blue flowers._

_"Look at the cup Mommy," Eliza then said excitedly._

_Having to let go of the girls then, Beckett took the cup and smiled when she saw the delphinium in the foam and told him, "You should have a book of these."_

_"That would be interesting," Castle replied. "But I prefer to write." He sat down on the edge of the bed as the girls were moving to his side of the bed and he said a quick, "Thanks you two," before he was leaning over, kissing his wife deeply._

_Giggling a little at first Eliza tried to suppress it when her sister tried to quiet her but she couldn't stop it until their parents had pulled away from each other._

_"So we're amusing now love," Castle told his wife._

_"I don't think it was that," Beckett said as she reached for Eliza and pulled her to her lap. "So now what's for breakfast?"_

_"Hungry Mommy?" Julia asked as Castle handed her mother a plate._

_"A little," Beckett said, smiling at the crêpes on her plate. "Did you put the chocolate on ours?" she asked Eliza as the three there had chocolate syrup all over them in a hectic pattern that she knew her husband wouldn't have put on. When the toddler nodded she kissed her cheek and then said, "You put the berries too?"_

_"I did that," Julia said, smiling widely as her little sister was shaking her head firmly. "But I just put them on."_

_"They're still pretty," Beckett said, letting Eliza take the fork she'd been holding before reaching for her oldest. When Julia was close enough she hugged her close and shared a kiss with her saying, "I love you sweetie."_

_"Me too Mommy," Eliza said before her sister could reply to that._

_"I love you too Eliza," Beckett said with a soft laugh as Castle was sitting next to them on his side. She shared a kiss with their youngest and then felt Julia hugging her a little tighter._

_"I love you too Mommy," the little girl said seriously. "But you should eat now," she told her._

_"Okay," Beckett said with a smile. She let her go and then reached to her husband, squeezing his free hand before they began to eat with their daughters._

_When the meal was over, Eliza watched as Castle took the plates and cups and put them back on the tray. When he came over to her, handing her a card, she said to her mother seriously, "For you Mommy."_

_Leaning over Beckett pressed her lips to Eliza's forehead and then opened up the card, seeing that there were scribbles of color along the bottom. "Is this us?" she asked with a smile, looking up at her daughter._

_"And Jules," Eliza said swiftly, nodding her head as she pointed to a green scribble._

_Beckett, still smiling, read the note above the scribbles which she knew her husband had helped their daughter to pen, "I am happy that you are my Mommy and I love you very much, Eliza."_

_Squirming shyly on her mother's lap the toddler said, "That's truth Mommy."_

_"The truth," Julia said with a smile._

_"That," Eliza said, nodding her head. She hugged her mother back tightly when she embraced her and then said, "Now you Jules!"_

_Taking the card that Julia handed her, Beckett smiled at her oldest's drawing of four horses surrounded by green hills and told her, "This is beautiful sweetie. Ireland?"_

_"Yeah," Julia said before blushing a little as she knew her mother's gaze was going to the message she had written at the top of the page._

_"You're the best mommy there is and I am so lucky that you're mine. I love being your daughter and I love you Mommy, so much," Beckett read. She became a little tearful and then reached out to her daughter, pulling her against her other side tightly. "I love you both too, I wasn't kidding about that."_

_"We love you Mommy," Julia said._

_"Yeah, love you Mommy," Eliza was quick to repeat._

_When they had pulled away from their mother Julia turned to Castle and said, "You too?"_

_"I do," he said, smiling as he'd been watching them, not wanting to intrude on the mother-daughter moment. "But because she's my wife."_

_"I hope so," Beckett replied as the girls then moved to get off the bed. "Girls?" she asked as she and Castle watched them go._

_"I guess that's a message to us," he commented when they were gone from the room. He looked at his wife and smiling said, "You mind?"_

_"No," Beckett said. "But I want to go after them."_

_"Of course," Castle said before leaning down and taking her lips in a passionate kiss that he let last for as long as possible before they parted and went after their daughters._

* * *

"Better?" Beckett asked her husband after they were sitting at their table with their breakfast.

"Very, you?" Castle asked her after finishing his sip of coffee.

"I wasn't as in need of it as you," Beckett told him with a smile.

"So we were thinking of taking you to LAX at about two," Skye said after finishing her potato. "And we'll take you to lunch inside since it's easier than making our way around."

"Unless you wanted to go to In-N-Out," Mary suggested.

"No, I think we'll head inside," Castle said before he could check with his wife if she wanted to do the same.

"I think he's eager to go home," Beckett said as the two women looked at her. She smiled briefly and then said, "So am I."

"That's fine with us, we understand," Skye replied.

"But won't your daughters get here while you're gone?" Castle then asked as he realized that.

"That's alright, they'll have fun at the beach before we go back," Mary said, her wife nodding next to her.

Castle and Beckett shared a look, wanting to comment on that though they let it go as Skye was asking them for a hint about their next book. They tried to brush off the questions but eventually told them a little about their plans for it until they'd finished and were heading back to the house.

"Damn it," Skye said as she was looking in the fridge. "We forgot to get some more milk love," she told her wife who went over to her.

"We can run and get some," Mary said. "We'll head out but be right back," she called to Castle and Beckett who were standing in the doorway to the deck.

"We'll wait for you," Castle replied before the two women left. Turning back to his wife he said, "We need to pack anyways you know."

"That's true," Beckett said with a smile.

"I'll be right back though," Castle said, kissing her cheek before he left her.

Watching him go back towards the bathroom Beckett called to him, "I'll be on the deck." And with that she turned to the outdoors and went to the railing, looking down at the people that were walking down on the sand. She smiled as she watched some kids in the distance chasing each other which distracted her so that when she heard footsteps running up to her she wasn't able to react until two arms were being thrown around her. Looking down she nearly jumped and said, "Eliza? Julia?" before she recovered and knelt down, gathering them both into her arms tightly. "Girls," she said with a laugh. "What are you doing here?"

"Surprise!" Eliza cried happily. "We came!"

"I can see that," Beckett said, kissing them both before she stood. "You brought them?" she asked Alexis with a smile.

"I did," the young woman said, smiling in return but because of her stepmother's surprise. "I thought we could have a mini-vacation when Skye called you to help."

"Kate, you… girls?" Castle asked, walking over to them and seeing he hadn't been hallucinating. When his two youngest ran to him laughing he knelt and managed to catch them, hugging them as tightly as he could as they cried out, "Happy Father's Day!"

"Happy Father's Day, Dad," Alexis told him.

"So… we're not leaving are we?" Castle asked after he'd kissed Julia and Eliza and then hugged and kissed Alexis.

Seeing that Skye and Mary were approaching them with their daughters and Hayden, Beckett said, "I think that's a no love."

"Sorry about the subterfuge," Skye said, stepping out. "But Alexis really wanted you all to have a family vacation."

"Jim and Gram were okay with this," the young woman said as she could tell her dad and Beckett looked a little hesitant then. "They want to take some time to relax before our whole family heads to Madrid."

"Okay," Beckett said. "So I guess you're all staying in the house with us."

"Our suitcases are in the foyer," Alexis told her.

Castle picked up Eliza and walked with the others back inside before they took the suitcases upstairs; Skye's father going to his room across from the living room. "So how was your flight?" he asked the girls as he and Beckett opened their suitcases as they watched.

"Fun, Alexis sat with Eliza, but when we were up in the air I went to sit with them and she was on her lap," Julia told them, indicating her little sister. "We slept though, after breakfast."

"That was the earliest flight I could get," Alexis said, stepping into the room then.

"I'm here, hold on," Skye said as the young woman was stopping her father from taking anything else out of Eliza's suitcase. "We're here," she said, turning to Mary and their daughters. "Okay, so Alexis wanted to go some places while you're here with us and I agreed. Should be tourists now we're with our kids and after some discussion we decided on two places. First is Disneyland-" She was cut off then when Julia and Eliza cried out in joy and said, "I thought you might enjoy that."

"You go too Mommy, Daddy," Eliza said, going to her mother and taking her hand as she spoke.

"I will," Beckett replied.

"This is where I'll need to beg your forgiveness for the suddenness of all of these plans; I've only just got confirmation of them," Skye then said. "We'll head out in a bit to the Grand Californian Hotel and stay there two nights and doing that lets us have early admission to Disneyland tomorrow, an hour ahead of the opening."

"We walk around then, so Mummy can take pictures," Kathleen said.

"Yeah and get our ears if we need them," Marie said. She looked at Julia and Eliza and giggled at their confused expressions.

"We go shopping then as the stores are open," Skye replied. "And it allows us to digest breakfast we'll have at the hotel. We'll stay all day at the park until closing and then come back home Tuesday morning."

"That sounds… amazing," Beckett said.

"It definitely does. But how can you-" Castle started to say.

"I have connections," Mary answered. "Really good connections."

"Insanely good," Skye replied. "And we have passes to get us through the lines, around the back. Those we paid for though, except for yours, I had to add a bit of weight with those… Marie, Kathleen did your grandfather bring the books?"

"So we're signing?" Castle asked, not surprised to hear that.

"I'm afraid so," Skye said a little sheepishly.

"That's okay," Beckett was quick to say as the twins were nodding to their mother's question. "For that we'd sign a pile of books… which is what we have to sign right?"

"Yeah you can finish them whenever, they just need to be signed by Friday," Mary said.

"Oh I can't wait!" Julia said excitedly before she laughed with the twins, her little sister jumping up and down next to her.

"And then on Wednesday morning," Skye said. "We'll be heading south to San Diego."

"I suggested that," Alexis said as all four kids gasped in joy at that. "I wanted you guys to go," she told her family.

"I'm glad you did," Castle said. "Any set plans there?"

"I told them they could be our guides," Alexis answered for the two women. "Since they've been more than I have of course. And they usually have a set plan though it changes."

"Depends on how we feel but we'll stick to our usual routine. Wednesday when we get there we'll head to Old Town and then Balboa Park for some museums and then Seaport Village for dinner," Skye said.

"Could we go to the Del?" Kathleen asked.

"And the Whaley House! We need to go there Mummy," Marie added exuberantly.

"We'll see about the Del," Mary replied. "The Del Coronado."

"It's a hotel, Gram and I went there for dinner," Alexis then added. "Really beautiful, the beach is nice."

"And then Thursday we'll be heading to the San Diego Zoo," Skye said.

"Aminals!" Eliza cried out happily.

"A lot of them," Mary said.

"She's right," Skye said, smiling as the toddler hid her face with her mother's hand. "So we'll go there and we'll take you somewhere for dinner I'd like to keep a surprise, you should like it."

"That's if you two are okay with this," Mary then said, turning her attention to Castle and Beckett.

"I don't think we could say no," the latter began. "But what about Eliza at Disneyland? She'll need to take a nap," Beckett then added.

"My dad is coming with us," Skye said. "He'll take her back to the suite we share with the girls; your daughters will be staying with us there. And he'll take her when she needs to go to bed too if you'd like."

"I think she can stay with us until we go," Castle said, looking to his wife. At her nod he said, "Okay, I think we'll go." He laughed when Julia and Eliza cried out their thanks and hugged him and Beckett. "Thank them," he said, motioning to Skye and Mary.

When the two chorused out the words Mary said, "You should thank your big sister too, she put the idea in our heads."

"And so you know we head back home Saturday; we might try museums on Friday or Legoland we're undecided on that one," Skye said as the two girls were hugging their sister. "Your flight is next Sunday so you have a couple days rest before you head to Europe."

"Okay so we're ready to go since we didn't unpack that much," Mary said. "Let's head to the beach!"

When the four had left Alexis said, "You don't mind?"

"No we're eager to go," Beckett said with a smile. "I think your dad especially."

"I don't know if I am as much as these two," Castle said gesturing to the girls who were watching them.

"I am too, even though I've been before," Alexis said as they left the room.

"And San Diego too, that will be so much fun," Julia said. "Did you hear them say the Whaley House Daddy? We can go see the ghosts."

Sighing as Eliza giggled at that; the toddler having somehow become okay with the idea of ghosts but not monsters in the ocean at night; Beckett said, "We'll go to see the house but there aren't any ghosts there. For now let's head down to the beach okay?"

"Yeah, I can't wait to see where you've been Mommy," Julia said, wrapping her arm around her mother. When she put hers around her she smiled and leaned against her murmuring, " _I missed you_."

" _So did we_ ," Castle said, looking back at them, having heard that. He kissed Eliza and said, "But now we're back together we're going to have a lot of fun."

"Yeah it is your day Daddy," Eliza told him seriously. She smiled when her family laughed at that and then looked out to the water as they came out to the deck. When they went down the stairs she said excitedly, "Wanna go swim!"

"We are right now," Castle assured her before they got to the sand and everyone helped set up blankets and two umbrellas. With everything and everyone ready they walked down to the water with Skye's father staying behind with the boards and he held Beckett's hand in one of his and Julia's in the other as they neared the breaking waves.

"It's cold!" Julia giggled as her foot was covered by the water. She looked at Eliza who was squealing and she said, "It's like at home."

Nodding, the toddler saw something tumbling in the waves and she hurried after it. "Daddy look," she said, holding up the shell.

"That reminds me," Castle said, looking at his wife.

"The tide pools?" Beckett asked.

"Where are they?" Alexis said as her sisters looked up at them eagerly.

"That direction," Castle said. "And we can walk there but we'll do that after lunch."

"To walk off lunch?" Beckett said in amusement. When her husband nodded she laughed softly and reached over to him, squeezing his hand before they watched their daughters stepping into the water slowly as they got used to it.

"By the way," Skye said, going over to them with Mary as the twins joined Julia and Eliza in looking at the shells. "We're ordering in for lunch."

"So you're still treating us to the meal," Beckett said with a smile as Skye grinned.

"Yes," the woman replied before laughing. "Okay so later on, whenever you'd like, I can teach you to surf a little Kate."

"I'll see," Beckett replied.

"You should learn Mommy," Julia said, having heard them.

"I-" Beckett started to say in slight protest.

"Just the basics and I'll teach you so I'll be less of a tyrant," Skye said in a rush. She laughed when her wife punched her on the shoulder and said, "To a degree."

"I'm not saying anything," Castle said when his wife and Mary looked at him. "Why don't we just concentrate on swimming with our kids?"

Shaking her head Beckett followed him with Skye and Mary to where they were in the water though only just past their ankles. "Holding onto her?" she asked Julia and Marie who had Eliza by the hands.

"Yeah but I think she wants to let the waves take her," Julia said with a giggle. "Just like at home."

"Sweetie," Beckett said, taking the little girl in her arms then and holding her against her hip.

"What do I do?" Eliza asked in some concern.

"Nothing I just wanted to do this," Beckett told her, kissing her cheek gently.

Eliza smiled at that and hugged her around the neck, kissing her back before she was set down. "Daddy!" she cried then.

"Hold on," Castle said, going over to them. He picked up Eliza, throwing her up in the air a little before kissing her cheek. "Want to run right in?" he asked her once she was on his hip.

"No, too cold," Eliza said firmly.

"I'll do that with you Daddy," Julia said, joining them.

"Sure?" Castle asked her. When the little girl nodded he set her down and said, "Just wait and see how loud we scream like girls," to Eliza and Beckett.

"But I am a girl Daddy," Julia pointed out to him.

"That's true," Castle said with a nod. He then laughed when he saw the perplexed expression on Eliza's face. "I'm kidding sweetheart. You're ready?"

"Come on Daddy," Julia said insistently, reaching out to him and taking his hand.

Beckett tried not to outright laugh when their oldest nearly pulled Castle to the water and as they ran in she finally let herself do so as her husband was yelling at the temperature of the water. She looked down at Eliza as Julia's cries reached their ears and saw that she was smiling so she asked, "Want to go further in?"

"Yeah," the toddler said, nodding her head firmly. Taking her mother's hand tightly she stepped towards the water before she saw that her father and sister had reached where Alexis had been swimming. "Can I go too?" she asked her mother.

"That's a little too far," Beckett said. "But when they see us I'm sure they'll join us." She made sure that as they got deeper Eliza was okay and when she too was floating she said, "Kick your legs sweetie."

"I do Mommy," Eliza said. She smiled as she saw her sisters coming over to them and then waved before her mother let go of her other hand. Since she was used to swimming at home she was able to reach Alexis and she wrapped her arms around her neck tightly. "Did you see?" she asked eagerly.

"I did, you're swimming really well," the young woman replied. "Want to go back?"

"With the waves pushing us," Julia said quickly. At Eliza's nod she turned back to the shore, treading the water before the next one started to move them to the sand. "We'll see you back there!" she called to their parents who were staying behind.

"Glad to see them love?" Beckett asked her husband when they were alone.

"Yeah, you're not?" Castle said in response. When she splashed him he tried to jump onto her when she ducked under the water. He quickly did the same and swam back with her until they reached the others on the shore.

When she was about ankle deep in the water Beckett waited for her husband to walk up to her and she said, "Believe me I am too."

Though he wanted to do better, Castle leaned down and shared a brief kiss with her before their daughters came over to them, begging them to look for shells. And taking Eliza's hand he and Beckett started to do exactly that.

* * *

"Mommy?" Julia said as her mother was sitting down.

"Yes sweetie," Beckett said, wrapping her arm around her shoulders.

"You're glad we came right?" Julia asked. "We could have let you come home but Alexis said it would be a fun little vacation."

"She's right it will be," Beckett said. "And we were both missing you so here or back home we could care less. We just wanted to see you again."

"So did we," Julia replied, wrapping her arms tightly around Beckett. " _I missed you a lot_."

Turning her head to press her cheek to the top of her daughter's head, Beckett murmured, "I love you Julia."

Coming over to them Castle paused when he heard that and was about to turn away when Julia looked up and noticed him.

"Hey love," Beckett said to him teasingly when she noticed him in front of them at her daughter's movements. "Want to join us?"

"I would but Skye sent me," Castle said. "Time for your lesson Kate." When his wife looked at him with one eyebrow raised he nearly gulped but then hurriedly told her, "That's what she said, not me."

Julia stifled a giggle as she looked to her mother to see her reaction and wasn't surprised to see she was still giving him a look, though one of her less stern ones. She stood with her and watched as her mother walked up to Castle, gesturing to him with her finger.

Whispering in his ear Beckett pressed a kiss to his cheek and then walked away, glancing over her shoulder to see that he was staring at her seemingly frozen.

"Interesting," Skye said as her friend reached her then. When Beckett looked at her questioningly she said, "Whatever the hell you told him must have been a doozy just now."

"I think so," Beckett said, glancing at him again quickly before turning her attention in front of her.

"You okay Daddy?" Julia asked Castle as she touched his arm.

"Yep you know I love your mom right?" he said, looking down at her.

"It's easy to see that when you stare like that at her and get stuck like you do," Julia said, giggling softly.

"Yeah… come on, let's go and see how she does," Castle said, holding his hand out to her.

"How is it?" Beckett asked Alexis who was coming back with Mary.

"Fun but a little difficult," the young woman said. "You might get it."

"Not that fast I'm sure," Beckett told her honestly as she took the surfboard she'd been using. She set the board down into the sand as Skye was doing and then watched in amusement as the woman was shooing her wife away.

"Go, get on out of 'ere," Skye said teasingly to Mary, taking on a Cockney accent. "I can teach her well enough love."

"I know but we'll stick around to watch," Mary replied.

Shaking her head Skye gave her a brief kiss before turning her attention back to Beckett. "Okay so you and I were watching when Mary taught Rick about the wall, now it's your turn," she said then to begin.

Beckett listened closely to her friend, watching her lay on the board on her stomach before jumping up. When she was told to try the same she was able to stay within the wall for a moment before she had to step off to regain her balance.

"Good you're a snowboarder so you understand that need for balance," Skye said. "Show me how you stand when you snowboard."

"Here?" Beckett asked, motioning to the board. At Skye's nod she got up on it and let the woman turn her body so it was in the correct position.

"Think you can remember that?" Skye asked her.

Beckett gave a nod before she got back down on the board, and then attempted to stand up again. She was able to succeed in it getting the position though she had to fight for balance for a moment.

"Try it again just like that, a few more times," Skye told her when her friend looked to her. She watched Beckett do that until she had her stop and said, "I think we're ready to head out to the water."

Running over to her mother as soon as she was standing Eliza threw her arms around her and said, "Good luck Mommy!"

"Thank you sweetie," Beckett said, leaning down to share a kiss with her. She then picked up the surfboard and ruffled her youngest's wet hair before following Skye to the waves.

Once she and Beckett were sitting on their board, looking at the crests going past them, the investigator told her friend, "Your husband's watching."

"I don't even have to look to see," Beckett replied.

"Just before I let you go," Skye then said. "How're you feeling about tomorrow's plans?"

"I'm eager to go, I'm not kidding," Beckett said. She laughed softly when she saw the surprise on the woman's face at that and told her, "I do enjoy rides; I'm just not that childlike in my exuberance. And you know you owe me a ride."

"Why?" Skye asked in confusion.

"Because I'd like the chance to see how you are on a ride," Beckett said.

"Ah, I take it you think I lose more of my investigator façade," Skye said with a knowing smile. When Beckett nodded in response she said, "Alright, tomorrow we'll ride together on Thunder Mountain, the very back together." They shook on it and she then said, "But for now…" motioning to the waves.

Waiting for Skye to tell her when to go Beckett pushed herself through the water and at the moment she'd been told to watch out for she tried to stand on the board as she'd done on the sand. But her right foot slipped before she could set it firmly down and she was going off into the water. When she resurfaced, she was startled to hear her husband and the others cheering and she climbed back on the board, waving to them before going to Skye who had stayed where they'd been, waving her to her. "So that's standard the first time right?"

"You nearly had it," Skye assured her. "Just watch how hard you try to set down your foot. I had that same problem myself. Want to try again?" At Beckett's nod she waited and finally said, "Okay, go now."

Beckett went into the wave and was able to stand up for a moment before she lost her balance and was soon under the water. She went back to Skye and again tried and managed to fall at the same time. "How long did it take you to go forward at all?" she asked when she'd gone back to the woman.

"I did that the first day but it wasn't far," Skye replied with an understanding smile. "Try again but this'll be it, Mary's waving and I'll assume it's to call us in for lunch."

Looking over at the shore Beckett could see the woman doing so and she smiled saying, "Thanks for trying to teach me."

"Not a problem," Skye said with a nod. "Go ahead now."

At that Beckett went forward before she stood up on the board and she was able to keep her balance for a couple seconds going forward before she fell over. When she surfaced she headed to the others who were waiting for her and said, "I managed for a little."

"Yeah you did great," Castle said as their daughters hurried over to her and grabbed her hands before hugging her tightly.

"I might try to learn after lunch," Alexis said as they turned to watch Skye take a wave. "Wow."

"Yeah, she's good," Mary said with a proud smile as she looked on. When Skye was close she called to her, "Great job _grá_."

"Thank you," the woman replied. "Okay so are we ready to head up for lunch?"

"Your dad is, he headed up and watched you from the top," Castle told her.

"Then I think that means we should go," Skye said laughingly before she walked with the others to the blankets to start getting their things ready to go upstairs.

"I ordered already," Hayden said when he saw his family and the others coming inside the family room from the deck. "It'll be here in a half hour."

"Let's play hide and seek before then," Marie said eagerly to her sister, Julia and Eliza.

"In the house?" Julia asked. When the twins both nodded she looked at her little sister and asked, "Do you want to play too?" When the toddler merely smiled she then said to the two girls, "We're ready, who's gonna be it first?"

Watching as the four girls started their game Alexis took the glass of juice that her father handed her and smiled at him saying, "How're you doing Dad?"

"Great, you?" Castle asked, sitting next to her at the kitchen table where she was. "Are you ready?"

"I got everything done when I was at the beach house," Alexis replied. She then glanced outside at the deck where Beckett was talking with Skye and Hayden. "I didn't realize this was where you were staying. I wasn't expecting this house."

"Neither were we," Castle replied with a smile. He then said, "I'm glad you're here though."

"I got that Dad," Alexis replied with a laugh. "But you're glad I got you into Disneyland right?"

"To a degree," Castle said before one of the girls cried out in the living room. "Careful of the guitars there you guys!" he called in case that had been one of his daughters. When he heard Julia calling to him he said to Alexis, "We should have given you guys a tour before going to the beach. Come on."

"What?" Beckett said when she turned to the doorway to the house and saw her husband standing there with Alexis behind him.

"Sorry, waiting for you to finish," Castle explained. "Think we can give the girls a tour?"

"Sure," Skye said with a smile. When she stepped into the house with Beckett close behind her she suddenly heard two of the girls arguing and she called, "Alright, what's the ruckus?" Heading to the window to the living room, she slid it open and looking inside saw that Julia and Kathleen were the ones in disagreement while Marie was showing Eliza the guitars. " _You two_ ," she called in Irish. When they stopped she said, "Thank you, what's going on Kathy?"

"I tagged her before she touched home," Kathleen said quickly, sounding a little ashamed.

"I was looking at the guitar and I called that I wasn't playing," Julia said as she glanced at her parents behind the woman.

"Did she say that?" Beckett asked Marie and Eliza who were watching them. At the girls' nods she then said to Skye, "I guess Kathleen thought that didn't count?"

"I think she did," Mary said, coming up behind them. "Kath-"

"I'm sorry," the little girl said. "But I was close to tagging her it… I couldn't get the others 'cause Marie was helping Eliza."

"I think we've had enough of that game. What do you say to giving Julia, Eliza and Alexis a tour around the place?" Skye asked them. When the twins gasped and nodded eagerly she said, "Then we'll be there in a second." When she had slid the window closed she said, "Kathleen can get a bit competitive."

"For hide and seek," Mary said. "With board games luckily it doesn't extend to that."

"Good thing," Castle said.

"I feel we should warn you," Beckett said then as they were walking around to the living room. "Now they've seen the guitars, our girls might want you to play."

"If they do," Hayden called from the family room where he'd remained to start watching a soccer game on TV. "Bring them out here."

"He likes when we play," Skye said to Castle and Beckett. "We will Dad." They soon reached the room where their kids were and she said, "So what do you think?"

"It's a pretty room," Julia said politely.

"You're looking at my guitars aren't you?" Skye said in amusement.

"They don't belong to you both?" Castle asked in surprise.

"The ones in the apartment are mine, except for the acoustic she was using yesterday," Mary replied. "I have a Gibson electric down there. Have to remember to take it home," she said in an aside to her wife.

"I know," Skye replied.

"So you know how to play them?" Julia then asked hurriedly as soon as she'd finished speaking.

Nodding Skye then said, "I do, would you like to hear?" At the nearly frantic nodding of the girl she smiled and said, "I'll do that after our tour."

"Sweetie," Beckett said as Eliza was tugging on Skye's hand then. She was surprised, as usually the toddler was shy among strangers, but guessed that seeing herself interacting with the woman was enough to put her at ease.

"It's alright," Skye said quickly. "So what can I help you with lass?" she asked Eliza.

Smiling the toddler then said shyly, "Can I see you play?"

"Of course but don't worry, we'll do that soon as we go through the house," Skye answered as she ushered the others out. "And since it's small, we'll get to it quicker." She took them then through the house and even down to hers and Mary's apartment. That was the last thing and when they went back upstairs to the family room she said, "I'll be back with my guitar."

"Just bring one love," Mary told her as she was leaving.

"What about showing them-" Castle started to say.

"I'm bringing that too!" Skye called though her voice was muffled.

"Bring what?" Julia asked her father as she leaned against him while he sat on the couch.

"You'll see," Skye said, coming back. "I checked the time, we've only got about ten minutes so maybe two songs?"

"That's good," Julia said, watching the woman plug in the Rickenbacker into the amp she'd also brought.

"Any requests?" Mary asked while her wife was checking to see the guitar was in tune still.

"What songs do you know?" Julia asked, knowing when she looked at her little sister; sitting on Alexis' lap; that she was thinking the same.

"A lot, but we played one of Paul's solo songs and one of George's to your parents yesterday," Skye replied. "So choose one of those, we'll be able to play it."

"I think it's you this time _grá_ ," Mary replied, smiling when her wife shrugged.

"Do you know how to play…" Julia started to say, thinking for a moment. "The song _Flaming Pie_?"

"I do," Skye replied. She took a moment before she was pressing her fingers on the first chord and began to play; singing as well as she watched her daughters start to jump up and down in response to the music.

Clapping with the others once the woman had finished, Julia confessed to her, "I didn't think you could play like that."

"I'm not surprised but I really had to practice to learn how to do that," Skye said. "And one more song before lunch, I'll pick this one out, I played it for your parents yesterday a little. And if I'm correct, you'll know this song already."

Since she'd been saying that while looking at them Castle said for him and Beckett, "If it's the one I think you're going to play then yes, she will."

Smiling at that and nodding Skye put her slide on her finger and began the song _Cheer Down_. Just before she started to sing she smiled at Julia as she looked eager at the music and when she sang with her after the first verse she knew the little girl did know it.

"That'll be lunch," Mary said when there was a buzzing noise at the gate outside as soon as her wife had finished playing.

Castle hurried to help her get the pizza and once everyone had drinks and slices on plates he went with his family to the table outside. "This is nice, it's been a while since we've had a family d- meal," he said after they'd all had a few bites.

"It has since you've been at school before this," Beckett said in agreement. "And then we were all the way out here."

"We'll have a lot of meals coming up," Alexis said.

"Yeah with Grandpapa and Gram," Julia added. She then looked over at Eliza as the others were doing, seeing her squirming on their mother's lap where she was sitting. She smiled and said, "That was fun, hearing her play those songs."

"I'm glad you saw the guitars," Castle said. "That way you could see her playing slide guitar."

"That was really awesome," Julia said seriously. "And the same seeing you surfing too Mommy."

"Thank you," Beckett said, leaning over to kiss the top of her head. "You'll probably say the same about the tide pools when we get there."

"And Disneyland too," Alexis said.

"Did you go on the ride Thunder Mountain when you went?" Beckett asked her stepdaughter. At her nod she continued saying, "A fun ride?"

"Julia can ride it, so it's not too intense," Alexis replied. "Space Mountain is but these rides aren't extreme so you know."

"I figured," Castle said. "You know there are two parks there that-"

"Forgot to tell you," Skye called out through the doors that were open behind the kitchen table. "We have park hopper tickets so we can go to both so you can go into California Adventure."

"Are there good rides there?" Alexis asked.

"I told… oh you want them to hear," Skye started to say before she realized why the young woman had said that. "Yeah, for all ages. If you're looking for a bit more extreme, try Tower of Terror. Please, try it."

Sharing a look with her husband Beckett asked, "Any reason why?"

"She wants to go on with you," Hayden said with a chuckle. "Any of you. Mary's a bit afraid of it."

"Terrified more like," Skye teased her wife.

"You better believe I am," Mary said quickly. She then leaned over and kissed her wife on the cheek before saying, "Please go, Skye loves it and she usually ends up heading out on her own."

"I will," Castle said before he looked to Beckett and Alexis and saw them nodding. "I guess that's all of us."

"Great," Skye replied. She then laughed and said, "I love how you all agreed without asking what the ride was like."

"What is it like?" Beckett asked.

"You go up in an elevator and you drop," Skye said, standing up with her plate. "Ta-da," she finished with, shaking her hand in the air as her daughters and Eliza giggled.

"She's teasing you." "She's taunting us," Mary and then Beckett said.

"Taunting is too strong a word, teasing is better," Skye replied as she sat back down. "Just trust us to lead there."

"You can be our tour guide in Disneyland," Julia said quickly to her big sister.

"I don't know if I can be that much," Alexis said truthfully, smiling as Eliza cried out, "Yeah!" "I don't remember too much about the park since it's been a while since I've gone."

"Well for now," Castle said, having finished his last slice. "I think we can concentrate on the beach. Though how long do we have until you want to go?"

"Does everyone need to pack?" Skye inquired.

"We're set," Beckett said, answering for herself and Castle.

"We don't have too much to repack," Alexis said.

"The girls' clothes to travel are out," Mary replied.

"I didn't unpack a thing," Hayden said.

"Then we've got two hours," Skye said. "But this isn't a set schedule so you know," she commented as the others were coming in from the deck to bring their plates and glasses.

"We'll aim for that," Beckett asked as Julia and Eliza turned to her and Castle.

"Yeah they want to go to the pool too," Mary said, having seen the girls and smiling at their similarity to hers and Skye's twins with that.

The items from lunch washed, dried and put away, Skye put away her guitar and amp before joining everyone else at the stairs where they went down to the beach. They walked together in a group after Hayden sat on the rocks to the right of the bottom of the stairs at the gate. The adults trailed behind the girls, Alexis walking with them to watch out for them as the four looked at the line of shells in the sand.

"One thing I'm wondering about," Beckett commented as she watched Eliza holding up a shell to Kathleen. "She seems to be okay with your dad."

"Marie," Skye said, having been unable to respond to that question. "Sweetling when your grandfather picked them up did he tell them stories about his planes?"

"Oh yes, of course," Marie said with a smile on her face.

"And does Eliza enjoy planes?" Mary asked Castle and Beckett.

"She loves them," Castle answered. "I think that's our answer love," he said to his wife.

"I think you're right," Beckett said with a nod. "But he doesn't mind being a babysitter?"

"He's not much for rides," Mary said. "My father in law will go on the slower, kid rides but the rides for older kids and adults… not so much."

Nodding to that Beckett didn't have a chance to say anything else as they had reached the rocks that covered the sand and they had to help the four girls across them as the waves were once again washing over them. She was helping Julia and once they were back on the sand she squeezed the smaller hand in her own and asked, "Taking a lot of pictures?"

"Yeah I'm glad I got another card for my camera," Julia replied with a smile. She took a picture of the water and then the beach ahead of them before she said to her mother, "Grandpapa got it for me."

"We'll have to thank him," Beckett told her.

"He had a feeling with this trip and then our next one she was going to need it," Alexis said.

"Yeah and I dried the cups and utensils for it," Julia told her mother. "Oh and brushed Eliza's hair sometimes at night too."

"I'm glad to hear that," Beckett said. She tried to let go of her daughter's hand so she could take more pictures but was surprised when Julia wouldn't let her go. "When we get over there to those rocks you'll want to take pictures," she told her.

"I know but now I just want to walk with you both," Julia said in response as she was holding Alexis' hand as well. When they neared the rocks that her mother had been talking about she saw the sign about the tide pools and said, "What are they going to take?"

"The animals inside," Castle said, turning back to them as Eliza had let go of his hand and had run back to his wife. "Come on," he said as Julia ran up to him at that. He led her up on the rocks and at the first pool knelt next to it with her.

"Oh Daddy look!" the little girl gasped in amazement. "Sea stars!"

"I know we picked these up when we came the first time," Castle said, smiling at her reaction.

"I can pick it up?" Julia asked enthusiastically as her mother and two sisters joined them around the pool.

"You can but don't take it out of the water remember," Beckett told her.

Nodding at that Julia reached down into the water and slid her hand underneath the sea star. She looked up at Eliza as the toddler squealed in pleasure at that and watched as their father helped her put her hand in the water too. "Careful," she told her.

Giggling Eliza rubbed her fingers over the top of the animal and smiled wider before she watched Alexis doing the same. "Can I take?" she then asked.

"Of course," Castle said, taking the sea star. He slid it onto Eliza's hand, keeping his close so he could catch it in case she dropped it. When she gasped at the feel of the underside of the legs he smiled and leaned over, kissing her temple gently before he helped her put the star down.

"Are they same?" Eliza asked her parents as they stood up, pointing to the other pools near them.

"Some of them have the same things in them but not all of them," Beckett told her.

"We're going to head over this way," Castle told them as Julia and Alexis headed past them. "That way we don't crowd you."

Waving at them, Eliza then looked down into the pool she and her mother had stopped next to and said, "That Mommy?"

"That's an anemone," Beckett replied, holding her hand back.

"Ooh, Nemo!" the toddler exclaimed. "Anemo-nemo-e," Eliza then said, giggling at her mispronunciation.

Beckett smiled at that and then leaned over sharing a kiss with her youngest before saying, "These are sea urchins."

"Urch?" Eliza tried.

"Urchin," Castle said. When Beckett looked up at him as he knelt next to them he said, "They were talking together, I thought I'd join you."

"You can touch these," Beckett then said, looking over at their daughter who was touching the top of the water with her fingertip. "But be very careful."

"I'll help her," Castle said. "Let's see if you can learn how to do it yourself."

Beckett looked on as he helped the toddler move her hand over the animal and smiled when Eliza was able to pick up the same motion once he let her go. When their daughter cried out and shook a little moving her hand away she said, "Did you like it?"

"Yeah, urch," Eliza said, turning to her father.

"Urchin," Castle said, pretending to be serious.

"Urch," Eliza repeated.

Unable to help smiling then at her mock-stubborn tone Castle couldn't help laugh for a moment and then said, "Ur."

"Ur," Eliza said before she turned her head and smiled as she felt her mother hugging her from behind.

"Chin," Castle said, stroking his chin. When the toddler reached out to him and patted it he grabbed her hand, pressing his lips to the palm briefly, making sure he made a loud smacking sound to make her laugh.

"Chin," Eliza said. "Ur-chin," she then tried. When her father nodded she squealed and wrapped her arms around his neck.

Standing up at the same time as her husband while he was picking up their daughter, Beckett said, "Want to take her over to the edge?"

"To jump Mommy?" Eliza asked.

"No," Castle said. "Just to look, it's really amazing with the waves… hey you two got tired of the pools," he said, trailing off when he saw that Alexis and Julia where were he and Beckett had looked down at the waves the past two days.

"No she wanted to see what it looked like over here," Alexis replied as she watched her sister taking pictures. She smiled as Julia turned around and said, "She wants to know the time."

"Where's your phone?" Beckett asked, watching as Castle looked at his watch and smiling at Eliza who pretended to cover the face of it.

"I forgot it at the house," Alexis said.

"We've got an hour and fifteen minutes," Castle said. He heard someone approaching them and looking over his shoulder asked, "Time to go?"

'We can take them along the street," Mary suggested.

"I called my dad," Skye said as Castle started to open his mouth. "He's got the umbrella and will get the blankets."

Though the twins and girls protested a little in having to leave they followed their parents back to the sand and up to the street. With Julia and Marie leading the way the others watched them talking as the latter would point things out for the former to take pictures of. When they reached the beach house there was a rush to check on suitcases and to make sure everything and everyone was ready before they were going to the garage.

"You rented a car?" Castle asked as he took the car seat that Alexis had brought for Eliza from the bigger car that was parked parallel to the garage.

"I needed to," Hayden said with a smile. "You okay taking my car again?"

"Sure," Skye replied quickly. "They're taking our car again Dad," she told him. She then turned to Castle and Beckett once he'd finished with the car seat and said, "So just follow us, we'll drive straight to the hotel."

"No stops at convenience stores," Alexis asked jokingly.

"Not this time, the pool awaits," Skye said.

"My mother loves you, you know," Castle said with a smile on his face as the woman had made a gesture with her arm saying that.

"I gathered," Skye replied. "So let's be off, we'll see you."

Watching as Mary drove in the rental car out of the driveway, Beckett backed out and smiled at her husband who had volunteered to sit in between the girls in the back; Alexis in the passenger seat next to her. "I should have asked how long this would take," she said.

"I really hope we don't hit traffic," Alexis said absently, looking at the screen of her phone.

"Is that a traffic app?" Castle asked, leaning forward a little bit.

"It is," Alexis replied in the same tone. After a moment she turned to them and said, "It looks to be clear on the freeways we're going on."

At that moment they reached the 5 freeway and Beckett followed Mary onto it before they headed north to the city of Anaheim.

* * *

"This is your suite?" Castle asked as the bellman opened the door for them.

"Yep this is where we always stay," Mary said. She smiled at the shocked expressions on the faces of the writer, his wife and daughters and told them, "My friend can request this suite whenever she wants but of course in advance."

"So how did you get it this time?" Beckett asked as they stepped inside and she watched the girls following the twins to the windows directly across from the door that looked out on a rock formation that looked like a bear.

"She's coming at the end of the week, no one had a reservation scheduled now so they gave it to her for the week," Mary replied. "Want to look around the whole thing?"

"Definitely," Castle said immediately.

Smiling at that Beckett followed him following the two women to the first bedroom. When she saw the bunk bed against one wall and the regular bed against the other she asked, "The kids' room?"

"And Alexis?" Skye asked, sounding very unsure of herself.

The young woman in question walked up behind them then and said, "That's alright, probably better I do stay here."

"How will that work though?" Castle asked as the four girls slowly trickled inside and Julia and Eliza exclaimed over the bunk bed.

"Well Eliza will be sleeping with her sister in this bed," Beckett said, watching the toddler climb up onto it, beaming at her. "And that leaves three for the bunk bed."

"Girls, I think since Julia's never stayed here before she should pick which bed she wants," Mary then said.

"They can share the bed?" Castle asked.

"There's a trundle bed here," the bellman said from behind them.

"Thank you so much," Skye was quick to say as he set the five suitcases left in the room. She paid him and then said, "He's right," before going to the bed and pulling out the trundle under the bottom bed. " _Voila_."

"Ooh…" Eliza breathed, blushing a little when the others laughed a little at that. "My bed?"

"I think you should sleep with your sister sweetie," Beckett told her, going over to her and brushing strands of her hair off her face.

"Which bed do you want? Mommy's right, we get to come a lot so we'll have the top bed again," Kathleen said, her twin nodding next to her.

"I wanna try the top but if I don't like it we can switch," Julia said. She smiled at her friends who nodded at the same time to that and she said to the adults, "What about you?"

"My dad is in one room and we're in the third one," Skye explained. "So if they need us at night at all Alexis, we're here."

"Great," the young woman said. "I think we should unpack."

"And that means you two should check out your room," Mary told Beckett and Castle.

"She's right," the latter said, glancing out the door to the room. "The bellman's waiting."

"We'll take a quick look at the rooms," Beckett said before they went to the next one. She admired the craftsman style décor before they went into the hall, promising the others in the suite they'd be back. "It's a beautiful hotel," she said to her husband as they went down a few doors.

"Our room should be nice too," Castle said as the man ahead of them had stopped and was unlocking a door. When they stepped inside and had passed the entry he nodded saying, "It is."

Smiling at his reaction Beckett went straight to what turned out to be a balcony looking out on what she had guessed by then was the California Adventure Park, their view nearly the same as the suite's. When her husband had joined her she turned to him and said, "It's a small room."

Startled for barely a second, as he'd thought she meant that in a negative way, Castle quickly realized what she was saying and he looked back into the room as they were alone in it then. He then said, "Couch next to the bed."

"I don't know," Beckett said, trying to sound a little flippant as she went back inside. "Maybe we should get some rest; the park does open at nine."

"And they're not going to go to bed early?" Castle asked.

"They might," Beckett said, using the same tone of voice. When her husband grabbed her from behind she laughed and said, "I almost had it."

" _I know you too well love_ ," Castle said, kissing at the side of her neck through her hair.

Turning around at that Beckett cupped his face in her hands saying, " _You do but maybe I can surprise you_."

"Tonight? Please say tonight," Castle said earnestly.

Smiling at his switch back to English, Beckett shook her head as her response and then leaned into him as he held her close. Their kiss was gentle at first, knowing they were remembering their family and friends who would be waiting for them. But when things continued neither she nor her husband could resist and they were kissing deeply, grasping onto one another as tightly as they could until they were parting and literally gasping for air. She wanted to tease him about that night but looking into his eyes she found she couldn't do it and she sighed slightly saying, "We need to go." She then smiled and told him before he could reply, "It is Father's Day still."

"I'm hoping for some cards," Castle said as he let go of his wife. When she paused he said, "Not now when we're swimming, at dinner."

With a slight smile at that Beckett led the way over to the entry where their suitcases were, taking out their clothes they'd need in the next two days as well as their swim suits they'd packed separately. They changed together, not surprised when Castle was insistent she needed help with her bikini, and they were about to go to the door when there was a knock on it.

Sharing a glance the two went over to it, Castle opening it to reveal their daughters there on the other side.

"They wanted to see your room and I did too," Alexis said, admitting the last to them.

"There's not much to see," Castle said as he and Beckett stepped aside for them to enter. "But we have a nice view too."

"So that's not Disneyland," Julia said as they went out to the balcony after she and her sisters had glanced around the room.

"No but remember we get to go to that park," Castle said. "I have to wonder if that bear rock is a ride."

"We'll find out," Beckett said. "But for now we should head to the pool."

"Oh they're on their way down now," Alexis told them. "We stopped to pick you up."

"Alright then let's hit the pool," Castle said, grabbing Eliza and swinging her up on his shoulders to her cry.

Going down to the ground floor, Beckett glanced at Eliza looking around in awe though they'd been through the lobby already. She smiled and said, "How are you going to be tomorrow at the park sweetie."

Glancing down at her the toddler opened her mouth to speak before she closed it and then shrugged.

"I think your mom's trying to warn you there's going to be a ton of stuff to look at tomorrow," Castle said.

"You have to take pictures Mommy," Eliza said firmly.

"I will," Beckett replied with a smile as she held up her camera she was bringing with them.

"Are you going to take pictures tonight?" Alexis asked as they stepped outside to the swimming pools.

"Where are we going tonight," Castle said while they headed to where the McDouglases were.

"Skye said Downtown Disney," Julia replied. "She's gonna tell you now."

"She's right, I am," Skye said as they had reached them. "It's right here outside the hotel, some restaurants and shops. But we don't necessarily need to eat together, I was thinking since tomorrow we'll be together at the park…"

"A family dinner would be great," Beckett said, looking at her husband.

Castle quickly got what she wasn't saying and nodded telling Skye, "I think she's right but tomorrow we'll eat together."

"Probably quickly," Alexis commented.

"To go back to the rides?" Skye asked. When the young woman nodded she couldn't help laughing and said, "I see you did the same we do when we're here." She then turned her attention to Castle and Beckett and said, "There are three pools but we usually stick with the redwood because-"

"The slides," Castle and Beckett interrupted her at the same time to say. At their friend's nod the former said, "I think we will too."

Glancing at their daughters Skye could see they'd turned their attention to the slides and she said, "Julia, Marie and Kathleen will tell you about the slide if you want to know more about it."

Nodding Julia then looked up at her parents and asked, "Can I go too? If they can-"

"We were going to let you," Beckett was swift to say. "But listen to the lifeguards they have okay?"

"You didn't let me finish," Julia said teasingly. "Will you come with me the first time? To the top?"

"I can watch Eliza," Alexis said as they had all finished taking off their cover ups and putting on sunscreen by then. She picked her little sister up and pressing her cheek to hers said, "We should get used to the water before she goes on her slide."

"We'll be back," Castle said before Beckett could respond to that.

"He's going to be interesting to see tomorrow," she then said to her stepdaughter.

"I know," Alexis said laughingly, walking with her to the pool. She went over to the steps while Beckett was going after Castle and Julia and setting Eliza down on the top step she said, "Are you excited?"

"Yeah do we go like on Coney?" the toddler asked.

"It's bigger than that," Alexis said. When her sister's eyes widened in surprise she chuckled and said, "Let's watch them come down the slide."

At the top Beckett said, "Who's going to go first?" since by then the McDouglases had gone.

"I will," Castle said. "To test this out," he then added before he went to Julia and gave her a loud, smacking kiss on the cheek. "See you down there sweetheart."

"Bye Daddy," the little girl replied, laughter in her tone. "Have fun."

Watching as he went down, Beckett shook her head at his yell and said, "He's trying to make sure Eliza knows it's him."

"Her and Alexis," Julia said. She squeezed her mother's hand tightly when it was her turn to sit down at the top and she pushed herself down, crying out as the slide took her around the tall stump of a redwood until she splashed down into the pool. Giggling heavily as her father helped her up she said, "I'm okay Daddy."

"Was it fun?" Alexis asked, standing with him with Eliza on her back.

"Yeah you should go too," Julia said, reaching out to touch her little sister's cheek.

"Mommy!" Eliza then cried out as they watched her come down the slide and into the pool. She wriggled on her sister's back so much that Alexis set her into the water and she tried to swim over to Beckett.

"Almost," she said, quickly picking up the toddler and kissing her cheek. "Alexis, the slide is all yours."

"Great but first Jules and I want to see Lizzy going down her slide," the young woman replied.

Smiling at that, Eliza watched the small slide as they walked closer to it and she asked, "Do I swim down there?"

"We'll be here to catch you," Castle assured her as Beckett was heading for the stairs. "You'll love it though."

"Kay," Eliza called before her mother set her down outside of the pool.

"Tell us when you're ready to come down," Beckett said as she let Eliza walk around top of the slide on her own.

Standing at the top after another child had gone the toddler smiled when she saw her sisters and parents at the bottom in the water and she waved saying, "I wanna go."

As soon as Eliza had pushed herself down in the water Castle caught her and he and Beckett began to swim with her while their daughters went over to the slide. They let their youngest go to the other slide a number of times until they were joined by Skye and Mary and their daughters and spent the rest of the afternoon in the pool.

* * *

"This place has _paellas_ ," Alexis was saying to her family as they were outside a restaurant looking at the menu.

"Sounds good to me," Castle said. "And I think to the girls too," he commented as they went inside and the two were tugging on his hands.

Beckett didn't reply to that until they were seated at a table and she told them, "You two had a lot of exercise today you know."

"I had fun," Eliza said seriously as Alexis was trying to read the menu to her.

"And that too," Castle said before he looked at his menu. When they'd ordered their drinks and food and had gotten the former he raised his glass up and said, "To our summer together and our family vacations."

Smiling as Eliza said, "Yay," softly while they were tapping their glasses together Beckett said, "What are we going to do once we finish eating?"

"Aren't we giving Daddy his presents?" Julia asked.

"Of course you are," Castle said, laughing with the others when Beckett pretended to pinch his arm. "Or maybe not."

"I meant after that," Beckett replied simply.

"Shopping," Alexis commented, a little confused as to why she was asking.

"I remembered what Skye and Mary told us about the shops inside the park and I think we should hold off on those," Beckett told her.

"Save it for tomorrow," Alexis stated. At her stepmother's nod she glanced at the girls and said, "Sure but it's still early, so what can we look at?"

"The Lego store," Julia suddenly piped up. She smiled when her family turned to her and said, "There's one, Marie was telling me and Kathleen said so too. Daddy will want to go."

"She knows me so well," Castle said in amusement since that was true. But since he and Beckett had gotten married, he'd done some Lego sets with the girls and he found he enjoyed that far more than doing sets on his own. "But girls I think we should wait until we're back at home after this summer to see if we're finished with all the sets we still have to do at home." He was slightly startled when both girls shrugged at that and looking at Beckett he saw that she seemed to take that in stride. Their food was shortly being served, so he leaned over to his wife and whispered, "They want stuff tomorrow?"

"Alexis talked to them about that and somehow your daughter knew we told them we'd get them one thing that they picked out," Beckett said.

"And shirts? What about the ear hats?" Castle said, keeping his voice low still as she was doing the same.

"The ear hats are a given," Beckett replied. "Shirts… we'll see."

With a nod to that, he turned his attention the chicken _paella_ that they were going to share with Alexis and after making sure Julia and Eliza were set with their food he began to eat.

Talking about the next day as Eliza had asked about Coney Island again the family spoke about what they imagined the rides would be like, Alexis not giving in to their entreaties that she tell them if they were right. When they had finished and the table was cleared the young woman reached into her bag she'd brought with them and handed cards to her sisters before she slid a gift across the table to him.

"So that was just an empty threat?" Castle teased his wife before he had to turn his attention to Eliza who was trying to climb onto his lap. He picked her up and then had Julia climb up with her.

"I'm not heavy Daddy?" she asked, watching as he opened Eliza's card first.

"Not at all," Castle said absently as he looked at the blue scribbles all over the front of the handmade card and then back inside. " _I'm so happy that you're my daddy_ ," he read as Eliza giggled and squirmed in front of him. " _And I love you._ Thank you sweetheart," he told the toddler before kissing the side of her head. "I love you too."

"That's the pool," Eliza explained after she turned so she and her father could share a kiss. "That's you and us," she then added, pointing to other colored scribbles.

"Perfect for summer," Castle said, kissing her again. He picked up Julia's card and read, " _To my daddy… you're the best one ever and I love you so much_." He smiled as he felt himself growing a little emotional as the little girl wrapped her arms around his neck and he hugged her close. "I love you too Julia, so much," he murmured before sharing a kiss with her.

"Now the present!" Eliza exclaimed happily after her sister had explained the flowers she'd drawn on the paper among the horses.

"This is from them all," Beckett explained as he was tearing off the wrapping paper.

Getting the girls to help him Castle uncovered a framed photograph of himself with all three of his daughters. He recognized the picture as one they'd taken on Memorial Day that year, when they'd been ready to go to dinner as they were dressed up and on one of the benches in front of the beach house. "Fantastic," he said immediately. "An updated picture of me with my girls."

Alexis stood as he'd gestured her over, and leaning over she told him, "Love you Dad."

"Love you too kiddo," Castle told her with a smile before she kissed his cheek. He did the same to her and then the girls before leaning over to Beckett saying, "I know you took that."

"Still," Beckett said, though she was smiling. She shared a kiss with him before they got up to go and as they did so she squeezed her husband's hand that had taken hers, glad that he was obviously pleased with the way his Father's Day had gone.

* * *

"Jules," Eliza said. When her sister responded she said, "Up! Up!"

"I'm coming," Julia said with a laugh as she climbed up the ladder on the side of the bunk beds. "But remember you sleep with Alexis on the bed."

"I don't think she likes it so high," Beckett said as they'd asked the toddler about that already. She was toeing off her shoes and once they were on the floor she climbed up, joining her daughters on top of the bed as Castle walked up to the side after her.

"Hey," he said, peeking his eyes over the railing at them. He laughed when Eliza patted the top of his head in response and he said, "Julia? Night sweetheart."

Smiling at him, the little girl leaned over the side to share a kiss with him before they exchanged I love yous. She watched as Eliza did the same with him and then turned back to their mother before saying, "I love you too Mommy."

"Love you Julia, try and get some sleep okay?" Beckett said, kissing her.

"I will," the little girl replied with a nod.

"Love you too Mommy, lots," Eliza told her as she hugged her. She shared a kiss with her and said, "I will sleep too."

"I hope so," Castle said.

"I love you too Eliza," Beckett said then. She hugged both girls and then let Castle take their youngest before she went to the ladder. Down on the floor she tucked Julia in and then went with her husband to the bed. She let him tuck in Eliza and after they kissed her a final time before they slipped out into the main room of the suite with a last goodnight to them and Alexis who was stepping out from the bathroom.

"You guys can take them in," Castle said as Skye and Mary were standing outside waiting for them to finish tucking their daughters in.

"Are you heading back to your room?" Skye asked quickly. "We were going to have a glass of wine before we went to bed ourselves."

"I'd like to join you for that," Beckett said, glancing at Castle and seeing him incline his head in agreement.

"The bottle's on the table outside with glasses," Mary told them. "We'll be right out."

With a smile Beckett took Castle's hand and led him to the balcony where he poured out wine in all four glasses before joining her at the railing.

Leaning over Castle wrapped his arm around his wife's waist before they turned to the view of the park in front of them, enjoying the night's breeze as it blew around them while they waited for their friends.

* * *

Hearing the shower stopping in the bathroom, Beckett settled back against the pillows behind her, glancing at the window which was covered by gauzy curtains. She kept her gaze focused on that until she could hear her husband's voice calling her name.

"Kate? My shirt seems to have disa…" Castle started to say as he walked out to the bed. He trailed off when he saw that his shirt had ended up on his wife; unbuttoned and spread open to just reveal the curve of each breast; and he stood at the end of the bed while her head turned to him. "Love?" he asked, his voice a little strangled.

"I felt a little chilly," Beckett told him teasingly; arching her back slightly and watching his eyes take in that movement. "I hope you don't mind."

Coming back to himself rapidly Castle stepped forward so he could climb onto the bed and held himself above her telling his wife, "Not in the slightest." With that he leaned down, kissing her deeply on the lips. He felt in her response to him her desire and he shuddered before he pulled away slowly when they eventually needed to breathe. " _Sit up for me_ ," he told her.

Biting her lower lip at the husky quality of his voice, Beckett did so once he was out of her way, not surprised that he was watching the way his shirt fell against her while she moved. She reached up to his face with her hands, just barely brushing her fingers against his skin. When he leaned up and captured her lips she was there with him and swift to part her lips for his tongue that soon slipped into her mouth.

Feeling his wife's arms wrapping around him Castle groaned slightly when she pressed herself against him and somehow at the same moment he reached down with her to the bottom of his pajama shirt. They pulled it off and he looked into his wife's eyes as they parted to do that. He let his gaze travel down to her body and he said, "Can I?"

"No," Beckett replied simply before she was pulling the shirt off of her shoulders but not taking it off. There was little shock when her husband's reaction was to immediately lay her back and she held onto him by the back of his head as he brushed his lips over the tip of each breast before pulling away. Her fingers were on his cheeks again, trailing over them as he was just staring into her eyes, making her tremble a little imperceptibly at the intensity of the blue pools that were nearly black. She tried then to pull him back down to her but he wouldn't allow it, instead moving down so he could trail his lips down the very middle of her body.

As he kissed her Castle could feel the jump of her skin at the shock of his touch and he was nearly groaning as he worked his way to the mound of her sex. There he raised himself and said, "Help me," before he moved to get off the bed. He wasn't sure if she did in fact help him or just held onto him as she kissed him while he undressed himself. Since the end result was him naked he didn't really think it mattered so he was quick to follow her, lying against her with his hips pressed to hers. "I didn't think you were serious," he said to her as he watched her reach down to him to push up on him.

"I know but I think the idea of you showering was enough to make me think that yes, maybe we could," Beckett told him. "But once."

"Good," Castle replied, grunting as she was carefully curling her fingers around his erection. He tried not to hiss against her cheek as she guided him to her and he suddenly had an idea, reaching down to feel her folds with his fingertips. The slick sensation of them and her moan were enough for him and he helped her get him inside of her. Breathing out deeply as he stared at her he felt her hips rise while she put her feet on the bed to push her body up. "You remember what happened last time…" he somehow managed to say; not sure how he could speak as she was incredibly warm and wet around him. "Unless you want to make love."

"Fuck me Rick," Beckett said easily. But the next second she was moaning in pleasure as he made his first thrust and she was quick to respond as she was supposed to be the one moving in that position. However, since the first time they'd tried it doing that hadn't worked, they instead both moved and she could feel how well that was working as her extra leverage and height above the bed helped her to move faster than if she'd lain down completely. He was rough instantly and the feel of him so rigid within her was making her cry out already. She felt the friction between them and marveled as the sensation was rapid to snake its way through her throughout her entire form. She moved even faster, suddenly craving more of that, wanting to feel him giving that to her as he complied without her having to say a word.

Castle had a sense of what Beckett was going through, as he was thinking the same himself about her. But his gaze finally went down to her, seeing the expression of pleasure that was on her face. Something in him made him move and he leaned down, taking her lips with his passionately, relieved to feel her respond as he knew she was answering his unasked question with that. He thrust with her for as long as he could; letting as many minutes pass as he could without knowing how many exactly; and then he moved, pulling out of her body as she still groaned in her frustration.

"How…" Beckett began to say as her husband seemed to be hesitating a little. She let him grab her before he was pushing her back against the headboard, making her breathe a little harder in anticipation as he ran his hands over her skin that was exposed. She had her hands on the bed on either side of her body and with them there she was able to push herself up as Castle slid against her. She smiled at him as she straddled his lap and tossing her hair back over her shoulders she lowered her body on him, sighing as they were soon coupled together once more. "Rick," she moaned as he wrapped his hands around the small of her back, spanning it before she could feel his fingers entwining.

"How love," Castle said. Not putting that into a question as he knew already that she wanted exactly how he was moving, which was as rough and hard as he could do. He leaned over, taking her lips before their tongues were meeting inside his mouth. He took her back into hers before they lost control and dueled as ardently as they could. Feeling how she was matching him in pace he slid his hands from her back to her hips, holding her as she was thrusting against him. He groaned heavily as there seemed to be an unspoken competition between them until he knew he was moving as fast as possible. Moving from her lips he descended to her neck, pressing his lips against it a little frantically at first until she was reaching up to him with her free hand.

Beckett watched as her husband followed her palm, pressing his cheek into it until she found herself a little frustrated. She hadn't wanted him to do that so she decided she would have to be a little more forceful. But when she thought of how she wanted to accomplish it she found that their position was a little bit of a problem. So to fix that she pulled away from him, slipping away until he was aware of her leaving him not surprised it took him a little longer to figure it out than normal.

"What?" Castle asked her, moving to go to the middle of the bed at her touch.

"Wait," Beckett told him. She then laid back after she had brought the pillows to where they'd been before he'd made her sit up and before she could tell her husband what she wanted he was laying on top of her. "Hold on," she told him with laughter in her voice as he immediately tried to slip inside of her again. She held him by his shoulders and was relieved when he stopped. When she was sure he would remain still she cupped his face in her hands, letting her right thumb run along his lower lip gently.

"I don't know if I should be ashamed that I taught you this," Castle said before he leaned over, kissing at her fingertip.

"You didn't teach me a thing," Beckett shot back to him. She then smiled and said, "I can be devious too."

"You're doing that now love," Castle said, hearing the way he was straining with the tone of his voice.

Beckett continued to smile at that and she then wrapped her arms around his neck tightly before she spread her legs a little wider to him. That smile quickly dropped off as she felt him beginning to enter her. And when he paused for a moment with just the tip of him within her sex she tensed for a brief second until she seemed to sense that he was going to move. The way he rammed inside of her body left her grappling at him as his name left her lips on a heavy pleasure filled cry. When in the next second he was thrusting she had little time to recover and tried the best she could before starting to respond to him and quickly meeting his pace. Yet again; as before; she could feel the friction starting to send warmth from where they were joined to the rest of her body. It was slow but it soon had her moaning and trying to tighten her legs around him to bring him in her deeper.

Castle was able to tell what his wife was trying to do and he attempted to get himself further within her though it was a bit of a struggle since he was as deep as he could get. He then decided to take another route with that and with his free hand he reached underneath her, pressing on the small of her back. He tried to lift her up and after a moment to get used to that he was thrusting down and almost slamming against her clit. He watched the way Beckett reacted to that sudden explosion of pleasure; he was going through one himself since the entirety of her body responded as well; and he leaned down, kissing her hard. He groaned as she pressed back against him and he was suddenly moving them around so she was above him and he knew what was going to happen then, knowing if his body could react it would be shouting with joy as a minute later they were turning again so she was below.

It became a slight scramble between the two as they were trying to remain in the middle of the bed but continue the joy they were making each other feel. Neither had any idea how many times they switched positions but when they finally stopped Castle was sitting on his knees, Beckett's arms around him as he was taking her breasts nearly feverishly.

Stroking the back of his head Beckett tried to watch her husband as she felt the instant connection between her breasts and sex as every flick of his tongue was sending a jolt of pleasure down to the latter. She let him continue for as long as she could stand before she made him pull away. To make up for it; as there was a hint of indignation in his eyes when she looked at him; she leaned over to quickly kiss him. She crushed her lips against his and then moaned in the back of her throat as his hands were clutching at her through his shirt. She was a bit startled to realize that she was still wearing it but the thought left her mind as she suddenly broke off the kiss. "Lay me back," she whispered to him, gasping for air at the same time. "Make me come Rick."

Shuddering in joy Castle made what would be the last switch and he laid her back, letting her slide her legs around his hips though her right inched up to under his arm. He held it in place and then began to move again, thrusting rough and hard. He watched her closely, seeing in Beckett's body language and her response to his rhythm when she was getting closer. "Come for me love," he taunted her slightly. "You wanted me to make you scream didn't you? Let me make you beg for me again."

"Oh fuck Rick," Beckett gasped, more in the reaction of the rising tide of pleasure in her body she wasn't able to control. "You can't… you know I'll always want… this…" She had no clue what the final push was for her but a few seconds after she had stopped talking she broke completely. Her back arching as her husband's name was nearly ripped from her mouth; she felt the continuous waves of ecstasy that he was filling her with, making her almost whimper in response though she was still calling to him. She wasn't sure how she knew when he had joined her but the feel of his release was enough to make her nails dig into his shoulders, trying to hold him to her and trying to see if she would be pushed over the edge again. It didn't happen but that didn't matter as when she finally fell limp on the bed she was throbbing in her satiety.

A few rougher, quick thrusts and Castle was still himself, watching that he didn't put too much weight onto his wife. He was finally able to recover enough and he got off of her, rolling onto his back carefully as she was then quick to join him and lay on his chest. "My shirt," he said in slight amusement when he saw it was still on her though very low on her arms.

"I thought you might enjoy that," Beckett said with a slightly self satisfied smile, leaning over and kissing him on the lips quickly. "You always seem to be a little rougher with it."

"That's because you're an amazing lover Kate," Castle said. "It's not the shirt, trust me." He then studied her after he had put his hand under his head and told her, "But you did look… great in this."

"Help me," Beckett told him before she sat up. She smiled when he was quick to follow and then assisted her in getting the shirt off. Naked she let him wrap his arms around her before he was lying back on the bed, pressing her body close against his. She took his kiss that he gave her shortly after that, shivering in pleasure at the feel of his fingers very gently running up and down over her spine. When they'd managed to part from their sensuous kiss she shivered again though that time because the room was cool.

Castle felt the same and he reached down to grab the sheet before pulling it over them while Beckett was turning off the lights. "What time are we getting up?"  
"Well the park opens at nine," Beckett told him. "We have that hour before then so we need to be up at seven if you think you can get ready in an hour."

"Yeah less than that since we need to help the girls as soon as we're done… luckily they're used to waking up that early for school," Castle said with a nod. "So you're going to Disneyland."

"Rick," Beckett said in a mock warning tone of voice. She then smiled and told him, "You can take a picture with your phone to send to Lanie and the boys. But nothing silly, I beg you."

"Damn I was going to ask you to wear one of the girls' ear hats," Castle said, snapping his fingers. When she shoved his side he laughed and then turned onto his side, bringing them face to face. "Nothing silly, I promise," he told her quickly as he knew that she wasn't going to leave him alone on the issue. He reached up and gently brushed some hair on her cheek back behind her ear then leaned down to kiss her tenderly.

When they parted Beckett whispered, "You're going on rides with me you know. But not the whole day."

"Okay," Castle said slowly.

"I want you to go with Alexis as much as you can," Beckett told him. "I think you should go on your own after we go on rides the first time."

"You can go with Julia and Eliza," Castle said.

"I'll see," Becket told him. "We'll see how things go."

With a nod Castle said, "Then I should say goodnight love."

"Night Rick," Beckett said, leaning over. She kissed him and then said, "I love you."

"Love you Kate," Castle told her seriously. He kissed her a second time but he was far rougher than before, their heads tilting back and forth before they very slowly pulled away from one another. He pressed his forehead against hers and then lay on his back, wrapping his arm around her once she settled against his side.

Beckett stayed awake for a little longer, feeling the satisfaction from their lovemaking lingering within her. She wasn't sure when Castle fell asleep but as she closed her eyes she felt him still next to her. A slight smile quirked up the corners of her lips and she soon was relaxing her body herself, nodding off for the rest she would need as well for the next day they would be spending with their family.


	17. Going So Fast

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The title of this chapter is a lyric from the song Growing Up Falling Down by Paul McCartney, from his Fine Line CD single.

"What's this part?" Julia said excitedly as they passed the entrance of Disneyland with its floral Mickey Mouse underneath a railroad station.

"Main Street," Castle answered, smiling at the little girl since she was squeezing his hand in her enthusiasm. He looked over at Beckett who was carrying Eliza and he said, "Looks like you were right love." He then saw his wife was looking around and since he was able to easily recognize the look in her eyes and he said, "Want me to take her?"

"Do you guys mind if I take some pictures back there?" Beckett asked the McDouglases.

"We'll wait," Skye replied. "Right here."

"Horsie!" Eliza cried when she saw the horse drawn trolley.

"When we come back," Castle promised her.

"You don't need to come with me," Beckett told them with a smile.

"I want to take pictures of the posters too," Julia said since she had her camera around her neck.

Castle waited outside the short tunnel under the railroad tracks for the two before he said, "Are you excited sweetheart?"

"Yeah you too Daddy," Eliza replied, leaning over on the back of his head.

"I think she knows you very well Rick," Beckett said as she and Julia came back to them.

"Okay let's go before the park opens!" Castle said, pretending to start to run.

"Wanna see horsies," Eliza said after she had cried out in joy at that.

"Very quickly, there's more to see," Beckett told her. But when they reached the horse she said to the operator, "Is it alright?"

"Considering she's interested in you already," the man said in amusement as the horse was trying to nibble on Beckett's sleeve. "It's fine."

"I forgot you're good with them," Skye said as she and her family were standing on the other side of them.

"Really good," Alexis said. "She works with the more difficult ones."

Beckett just smiled at that and said, "Are we ready?"

"First stop is Adventureland," Mary said, waving her arm in a sweeping motion towards her daughters.

"What is that?" Eliza asked, back on Castle's shoulders.

"The park is divided into lands that have different themes… decorations," Alexis replied as they walked to the middle of the entry land. "Adventureland is one of them."

"What does it have?" the toddler then said.

Smiling at that Alexis told her, "You'll see we're not that far from it."

"Look at the castle Lizzy," Julia told her little sister. "It's pretty."

"Big," Eliza said in awe as they neared the Sleeping Beauty Castle.

"Were you able to get pictures?" Beckett asked her oldest as they reached a restaurant with old fashioned white metal chairs and tables outside it.

"Wait!" Skye said. "Hats?"

"Back this way," Mary said as Julia and Eliza looked to their parents.

"Are you going to get one?" Castle asked his daughter.

"Think I should?" Alexis asked, smiling up at Eliza.

"Yeah," the toddler said simply, nodding her head.

Inside one of the gift shops Skye and Mary led everyone to the Mickey Mouse ear hats and though there were more elaborate ones Julia and Eliza picked the same standard design.

"What are you getting 'lexis?" Julia asked.

"I like this one," Alexis said, showing her one that was gold with a blue flower rosette that held a burgundy feather and two peacock feathers.

"That's pretty," Julia said.

"She's right, it'll look nice on you," Beckett said, smiling as her stepdaughter tried it on.

"Okay let's get yours stitched up," Castle said to the girls. "And then we're set for rides."

"I have to take mine off for them huh?" Julia asked her mother when they were waiting for the names to be put on hers and Eliza's.

"You do but we'll be walking around a lot so you can wear it then," Beckett replied. She smiled when her daughter hugged her tightly and said, "You're happy?"

"How can you not here?" Julia said before she looked up as her father put her hat on. She put the hat on her head and laughed as she saw Eliza touching the ears on hers. Going over to her she then turned to their parents, seeing that Castle had his phone out.

Watching the two call to Alexis to come over, Beckett looked on as her husband took a picture and she asked, "Are you sending it now?" when they were leaving the store.

"Already done," Castle said. He pocketed his phone and grabbed Eliza again before putting her back on his shoulders. "So what's first?" he asked Skye who was walking near them.

"You'll see," the woman replied simply.

"Look!" Eliza cried, pointing ahead at the sign that read Adventureland.

"I know, see the masks?" Julia told her, pointing to them on their right. She took a picture before looking ahead and taking more pictures. "It's so pretty."

"It is," Beckett said, having to admit that the architecture of the building put her in mind of an Indiana Jones movie. "I think that's where we're going next love," she told her husband, pointing ahead to the building with the sign _Jungle Cruise_ on it.

"I didn't go on this one," Alexis said as she knew her family was going to ask. "There was a huge line."

"There isn't now, we'll go through the queue," Mary told them, watching her father in law go in first with the twins.

After they had gotten through the line and were at the front Beckett, who was holding Eliza's hand as she was walking in front of her, asked, "See the boats sweetie?"

Nodding, her eyes wide, the toddler stepped down into the boat with her mother's help, going to the front of the boat where she waited for her mother to sit before going on her lap. When the 'captain' of the boat greeted her she smiled before holding onto Beckett's hands in front of her.

"You're not going to take pictures Mommy?" Julia asked after the boat started to move.

"I think you can for me Rick," Beckett told her husband, handing him her camera. She turned then and when they came to a scene of ruins and an animatronic tiger on it she said to Eliza, "See sweetie?"

"A tiger! Real Mommy?" Eliza then asked her mother.

"It's not but it looks like it huh?" Julia asked, looking over at her after taking a picture. She smiled when her sister nodded eagerly and then turned back to the animals as they were passing more. She took shots of scenes with elephants, giraffes and lions before they came to some hippos in the water next to the boat. "Look at the hippos!" she cried then.

Glancing up as the captain was talking about trying to calm the hippos; Castle was surprised when the man pulled out a toy gun and then shot in the air. He looked over at Eliza, concerned she would be scared but saw the toddler's attention was on the hippo that was by then retreating back into the water. He smiled when she giggled before they moved on to the next scene and he tried to remember to take pictures of them; also of his wife and daughters; until they reached where they got off.

Leading the way over to an entrance to another ride Skye and Mary stopped everyone and the former said, "This is where we're going to have to split up."

"Eliza can't go?" Castle asked.

"The girls aren't tall enough either," Mary replied. "Next year," she said quickly as the twins groaned. "You're just an inch away so next year when we come you'll be able to go."

"So what can you do?" Beckett said.

"The treehouse right here," Hayden said, motioning to it further to the right.

"Okay have fun and remember to listen to Mr. Hay-" Beckett started to say to the toddler.

"You can call me Liam," Hayden said simply.

"Then listen to Liam," Beckett said with a smile. "And don't go too far ahead of them okay?"

"Have fun," Eliza told her parents and sisters.

"We will," Castle said before he let her go over to the man, the twins leading the way to stairs up the treehouse. He then walked with the others to the left and he said to Julia, "Are you excited for this one?"

"Indiana Jones?" the little girl asked. She smiled but couldn't reply as they'd reached the start of the line and an employee had her stand at a line to measure her height before they were allowed to continue. "Look!" she breathed, looking up at the building the ride was in which looked like a temple.

After taking a picture, Beckett ushered Julia to keep walking and they went through the line. It took a while to get to where they boarded 'jeeps' that served as the vehicles, taking a little longer as they would stop and take pictures again. "Sorry," she said, unable to help laughing as they were catching up with the others again.

"That's okay," Skye said.

"It is," Alexis then said. "I was doing that myself when I was here."

"Can I sit next to you?" Julia asked her big sister.  
"We'll sit in a row," Alexis said, point to their left as they went up stairs then, the loading point in that direction. "But yeah, of course I'll sit next to you."

Since Skye and Mary were the first in their group they asked for the first two rows at the bottom of the stairs where an employee was waiting to ask the number of their party. When they got to the front row Castle, Beckett and Alexis urged Julia to sit behind the steering wheel before they followed her to the other seats.

"I don't know," Castle said in mock hesitation. "She can't even see over the steering wheel yet… we're not going to make it."

"We will Daddy," Julia said exasperatedly before she and her father started to laugh.

After another employee made them test their seatbelts the jeep took off and went through a gate into what was supposed to be to the Temple of the Forbidden Eye where a huge statue of the god Mara spoke in a booming voice before the car jerked to the left. It raced down the track to an animatronic Indiana Jones that was at a set of doors. They continued to the left, Julia and Alexis crying out in surprise and exhilaration as they looked out on a rickety bridge and a skull with glowing eyes. They continued around to a number of obstacles, including a projection of a low branch with rats on it and a moment where the jeep stopped in the dark and seemed to have trouble restarting.

At that point Castle said jokingly, "We should step out and check under the hood." But before he continue they were taking off again as Julia cried out again and they were soon at the bridge. There were flames around them and he laughed with Beckett as their daughters pretended to scream in fear. Going off the bridge, they turned hard to the right and a huge snake lunged at him. "Good thing I'm not scared of snakes," he said to Beckett.

She couldn't reply to that as they were descending behind the skull and the bridge and were soon coming to stop at a hall with paintings of warriors. "Are you having trouble again?" she teased Julia.

Pretending to shoot her mother a look, the little girl didn't have time to respond as they were suddenly taking off, and the small holes Julia had spotted on the paintings were soon shooting out sharp puffs of air that made her hair fly. Screaming shortly and laughing at the same time she ducked her head towards Alexis until they came to Indiana Jones, hanging above them from a rope. "The rock!" she cried; remembering the moment from the movie her parents had recently let her see. She squealed in pleasure as the jeep descended then to avoid getting hit by the rock and they then came back to the loading station. "That was so much fun!" Julia cried when they were walking to the exit.

"You guys enjoyed that too right?" Beckett asked Skye and Mary.

"Oh we do, I guess you couldn't hear us over your reactions," the former replied with a smile. "But we do love it, in the past it's just been us on it so it was nice to have you join us."

"What's next?" Julia asked. "Another ride? I hope it's one Eliza can go on too."

"It is," Skye said, going over to Castle and Beckett as Alexis took her sister's hand and walked ahead with Mary. "It's Pirates of the Caribbean," she told them in a low voice. "There's no exact height requirement but there is a drop in the dark. I'm not sure if you want to let Eliza go."

"When did you let your twins go?" Beckett asked.

"Same age," Skye said. "I've seen kids their age before… but of course it's up to you two if she goes."

"How big is the drop?" Castle then said. When Skye indicated it wasn't too long and the angle was less severe he looked at his wife. "If she holds onto me and I hold her?"

"Why don't we let her stay with Liam and then see for ourselves how it is," Beckett then told him. At his nod they went over to where their youngest was waiting with the twins and Hayden and she smiled as the toddler rushed to them, telling them about the treehouse.

When they reached the entrance to the ride, Eliza started to protest parting from her family and nearly began to cry before Hayden spoke to Castle and Beckett quickly.

"How is she on the rides at Coney Island?" the man asked them.

"She's daring," Beckett said, sharing a look with her husband.

Nodding to that Hayden said, "And does she mind the dark if you're with her?"

"She won't," Beckett said with a sigh as she looked at Eliza; whose lower lip was trembling. "Alright but sweetie we should tell you that there's a drop like a roller coaster has and it's in the dark."

Eliza seemed to consider that for a moment before she said to her big sister, "Did you see?"

"I did and it's not scary for me but you go pretty fast," Alexis said.

Suddenly taking on a determined look Eliza stomped her foot on the floor and said, "I will be brave."

"Okay," Castle said, trying not to laugh at the serious tone of her voice. "But no more foot stomping okay? You look like you're going to start throwing a tantrum."

With that the group went through the line up to the loading station for that ride and after getting onto their bateaux and sitting in first three rows they took off on the track.

"This is nice," Beckett said, sitting with Castle and Eliza. Their daughter was in between them and she watched her looking around eagerly to their left at the trees that were reminiscent of Louisiana, soft banjo music playing. "Is that a restaurant?"

"It is," Skye replied, sitting behind them with her dad. "But it's a bit formal; we've only eaten there once."

"Better we go somewhere a little less so," Beckett replied. She heard Eliza gasp and looked back to the left, seeing a house where an old man; animatronic; was rocking in a chair. She was distracted when Skye behind her tapped her shoulder and she nodded before leaning over to Castle.

After Beckett let him know that the drop was coming up he told their daughter, "We're almost there sweetheart; remember to hold on to me okay?"

Eliza nodded, feeling a little nervous before she heard the twins and then her sister starting to cry out in excitement. She gave a little scream herself, smiling when the others laughed at that before they stopped at what she thought was a waterfall. "Now we go down?" she asked her parents.

"Yep, get ready," Castle replied.

When they began to go down Beckett was relieved that Julia was screaming in excitement but she wished she could see Eliza, wondering if they should have made her wait for them to see if it was okay. But they were soon at the bottom of the drop and she was able to look to see if the toddler was okay.

"Too fast," Eliza said, sounding disappointed to her parents' surprise.

"I think she's definitely our daughter," Castle said in amusement and slight relief as he'd been concerned as well. "Another one?" he asked in surprise as the twins and Julia were crying out ahead of them at the sound of rushing water.

"A short one!" Mary called back from where she was sitting with the twins in the second row.

Eliza held onto her father with one arm and raised the other in the air as she saw her sisters were doing. She screamed in excitement as they went down and soon came to the bottom before they went around and came to a scene of skeletons. "Ooh," she breathed. "Piates!" she whispered.

"Pirates," Castle couldn't help correct, glancing back at Skye.

"Sorry I didn't think that would scare her," the investigator apologized.

"You're right, it won't," Beckett answered. She then looked ahead at the next scene, of a skeleton piloting a boat's steering wheel in a storm. Since Eliza was sitting straight in between her and Castle then she could look down to check her reaction, seeing she looked to be fine. When she saw the frown appear on her face she asked, "What's wrong?"

"Are they bad?" Eliza asked. "Do you 'rest them Mommy?"

"If they were here now I think I would have to," Beckett said, sharing a smile with her daughter before they looked at the next scenes of a tavern and then a captain's quarters on a ship.

"They were really bad, they're stuck here now while we ride past them," Castle said to Eliza. He smiled at her nod and leaned down, kissing the top of her head before they came to the next scene which had the toddler gasping in amazement as it was a treasure room.

"Wow that's one rich pirate!" Julia said, laughing with the others on the boat at her exclamation.

"Gold and gold!" Eliza exclaimed then. When they then went past the scene and into a tunnel she gasped as she saw the mist descending from the ceiling with a projection of a man talking on it.

"That's Davy Jones," Alexis explained to her sister with her in the front row. "Remember the movie poster you saw?"

"Yeah," Julia said with a nod, glancing back at their sister. She was relieved when she saw Eliza seemed to be okay and when she turned back she said, "Whoa."

Smiling at that Mary said, "They're trying to get Captain Jack Sparrow."

"The one from the movies?" Julia asked, having seen a bit of the first one. "Is he here?"

"We'll find out," Alexis responded.

After they'd left the ship firing on the town Beckett watched as they went past the town itself where the pirates were involved in a number of different activities. "Maybe if they'd stop the wench auction they'd find Sparrow," she said, putting the word wench into air quotation marks.

Castle couldn't help nod in response to that before they drifted past a drunken pirate with a cat next to it and then another asleep with pigs while the town was burning. "Remember this love?" he said as they came to a scene of a jail and a dog holding the keys the prisoners were trying to entice from it.

"Macca's with the police!" Eliza cried, stumbling a little on the s in her excitement. "Jules, 'lexis see?"

"We see," Alexis replied, smiling as Julia was busy taking a picture the best she could.

"He won't give it Mommy, Daddy?" Eliza asked as they drifted past.

"I don't think so," Beckett said. When they stopped at the bottom of an incline she looked around at pirates trying to fire at each other on dynamite she said, "They're not too smart," smiling when Eliza nodded firmly to that and making her hug her daughter, kissing the top of her head.

"It's Jack Sparrow!" Julia exclaimed as they started up the incline and the character was in a niche with treasure, singing the theme song to the ride. She giggled as they continued up and said, "I think that's my favorite ride with Indiana Jones."

"I agree it's a great one too," Alexis said. At the top of the incline she teased her sister about another drop but it was nothing more than them getting off the incline and through the water back around to the loading station. Once they walked off and were outside the building she said to her sisters who were holding both her hands, "Doesn't it look like New Orleans?"

"Ooh it does!" Julia cried before letting go of her hand to take pictures. She looked back at her mother and smiled to see her doing the same. "Now what?" she asked Skye and Mary; the former taking pictures as well.

"This way," Skye said, nodding to her wife to lead them. "Haunted Mansion," she told them. "No drops, nothing crazy in the track but…"

"It's a haunted mansion," Castle replied.

"But a Disney mansion," Hayden told them as he was walking with his daughter. "And the scariest things are a few figures that pop up. We took the twins on this at the same age as your daughter and managed to distract them. They love it."

"Okay how are the vehicles on this one?" Beckett asked as they were approaching a southern style mansion and she could see that Eliza was pointing to it ahead of them.

"Doom buggies, which can hold your three girls," Skye said.

"That would work," Castle told his wife. "Having them there would distract her, especially if Julia gives commentary."

"Oh, there is one thing," Skye said, sounding a little frustrated. "Can't believe I forgot to tell you. You take an elevator down and at the end the lights go out and in the ceiling is a hanging skeleton. On that we made the girls look down of course, distracted them."

Sharing a look, Castle and Beckett seemed to agree to do the same and they joined the others going through the line. Once they were inside the house, Castle was holding their youngest as Alexis and Julia were already distracting their sister from the spooky part of the interior.

"This is going to be so fun, the three of us," Alexis said as they stepped into the elevator. She smiled when Eliza giggled and then said, "And we'll get to see ghosts too."

Since her big sisters weren't scared the toddler smiled as a voice began to speak and the paintings above them started to stretch. Eliza's mouth dropped open at them before her father was telling her to close her eyes like they were all going to do to be surprised by which door to leave the elevator would be.

Relieved when Eliza followed her sisters' lead Beckett rubbed her back as the narrator then finished speaking to a flash of lightening and she looked up to see that Skye had been right. She couldn't help laugh at their fellow riders, who were screaming in mock horror after the lights went out, and when the lights came back on she said, "Okay look where the door is everyone," to let Eliza know she could open her eyes.

Going down a hallway then Julia looked at the pictures that changed as they walked past them and when they neared where they would get on the doom buggies the twins had told her about she watched as Alexis took Eliza from their father. On the moving walk way she quickly got into one buggy before Eliza was placed inside by their sister and she joined them. "We made it!" she said before the narrator from the elevator spoke.

"I hope she does alright up there," Castle said as he and Beckett were in the buggy behind them. When she took his hand he smiled at her before they went up a flight of 'stairs' and heard their daughters oohing at something. When they turned and looked down a hall at a floating candlestick he laughed and said, "That's pretty tame."

"Good start," Beckett said before they came to a coffin that was being opened. She could hear Julia and Alexis in front of them and knew they'd distracted Eliza from the sight before they were going to where a head floating in a crystal ball was speaking, instruments floating around the room as well. She was surprised to hear an eager cry from the toddler as they were leaving the room and then soon found out why that was. Below them was a ballroom and what looked like actual ghosts dancing, celebrating a birthday, dueling and even playing an organ inside.

"That she has to be loving," Castle said, leaning over with his wife to watch. When they came to the next room which was an attic he heard something with hydraulics but never heard Eliza crying out in fear as they soon came to the first figure popping up. In the next room; the outdoors and a graveyard; he was a little startled to hear her soon laughing and saw that she was responding to heads with faces projected on them from time to time, singing the theme song of the ride. When they came to the last thing on the ride, mirrors showing 'hitchhiking ghosts' which was making the toddler laugh again he said, "Definitely our daughter."

"I know," Beckett said before they had to step out on another moving walkway. She wasn't surprised when Eliza rushed back to them, telling them all about the ghost that had been sitting on her lap and the ones dancing as they went on an escalator to leaving the ride's building where they gathered together to see what was next.

"This is Splash Mountain," Mary said when they were stopped at the entrance to a line. "Fairly good wait time right now so I think we should go through it."

"Who can go on it and who can't?" Castle asked.

"I'm not going," Hayden replied. "You'll get wet."

"So Eliza?" Beckett asked. When the two women and even her stepdaughter nodded she turned to her since she was in Castle's arms and said, "You're going to have to wait with Liam this time."

"There's a ride around on the other side," Hayden said. "Winnie the Pooh if you'd like me to take her."

"That would be great," Castle said, Beckett nodding next to him.

"Have fun on your ride," Julia said to her sister as their father handed her to Hayden.

"You too," Eliza said with a smile and a wave before she watched them walk into the line. She looked around as Hayden carried her over to the path next to the line and then suddenly stopped. "Why?" she asked him, a little shyly still.

"Look up there," Hayden said, pointing to a mountain in front of them.

Following his direction Eliza saw that something was coming out from the opening on top and seeing that it was a log with riders inside she gasped out before it went down the drop. "They go there?" she asked the man after seeing the water splashing up when the people had gone out of sight.

"They will," Hayden said. He chuckled a little at the toddler's reaction to another log and riders going down the drop and said, "Want to watch for a little longer?"

"Yeah," Eliza said, nodding her head rapidly. She eventually started giggling as more went and then she realized something, "We can see them."

"You don't want to go on the other ride?" Hayden asked in slight surprise. When she shook her head no he said, "Alright, once they do go we'll see them again on the other side." At her slightly perplexed expression he added, "You'll see."

Eliza turned back to the mountain, looking closely at the people in the logs and trying to find her sister's bright blue blouse and her mother's green one. Finally she saw them and she cried out before they were going down the drop themselves. She held onto Hayden's neck when he suddenly turned and went to the other side of the path and looking over she soon saw her family on one of the logs. "Mommy! Daddy!" she cried out as loud as she could, waving.

"Hey Eliza!" Julia cried as they turned and saw the toddler, waving back to her.

"We'll see you soon," Beckett called before they disappeared from sight.

Shortly after Hayden saw his family on the log after them and he called out, "She wanted to watch."

"They had fun Eliza," Skye called out. "I think everyone did."

Giggling at that the toddler said once they were out of sight, "Me too."

"I'm glad you did," Hayden said with a smile. "Now we can go and meet them at the exit."

Letting him carry her Eliza insisted he put her down where he told her they'd be leaving the ride. As soon as he had she saw her family and ran straight to her father, hugging him tightly before he picked her up. "You got wet," she said, seeing his shirt was.

"Look at your sisters," Castle said in amusement, nodding to them.

"I told her if she sat in the front she'd get soaked," Alexis said, pretending to sound confused as Eliza and Julia laughed at her tone of voice. "But she didn't listen."

"That was so fun," Julia then said eagerly. "There were drops and animals singing and then the big drop. How was your ride?"

"We didn't go," Hayden explained. "I stopped so she could see the drop and she was entranced so we stayed there."

"Then we should head there now," Castle said as Mary and Skye joined them with their daughters.

"We'll join you," Mary said, looking at the twins. When they nodded they headed over to the line which was short and they split up to sit in the ride's vehicles.

After they'd left, the group went back around towards Pirates of the Caribbean before they went to the left instead; to what was Frontierland as Alexis was telling her family.

"Is that Thunder Mountain?" Beckett asked Skye, seeing the hoodoos in the distance that were reddish brown in color.

"It is," the woman replied with a smile. "Unfortunately this one Eliza can't ride again. But… Dad?"

"I know and Eliza there's a ranch back here that we can go see," Hayden replied, going to the toddler that was in her mother's arms.

"Aminals?" Eliza asked hopefully. When he nodded she squealed and after Beckett had set her down she took his hand. "Have fun," she said, opening and closing her hand to the others.

"Okay we're going to have to go through the back this time," Skye said after checking the wait time. "But we should pair up now so we're not delaying things."

After they'd done so they went through the exit of the ride once Skye and Mary had made sure everyone's pass was prominently displayed. The former spoke to the employee on the side that they had chosen and they had to wait for one train to board and leave the station before they got on the next one that pulled in.

"Are you sure you want to sit back here?" Beckett asked Julia, who was sitting with her in the last row of the train.

"Yeah, Skye said this was the fastest place to sit," the little girl said, sounding eager.

"It's a fun ride," Alexis said.

"I know," Beckett said, smiling at her husband who was sitting in the row ahead of them with his daughter. "We might be going on this a number of times."

"That ride Skye talked about?" Castle asked her.

Beckett only had time for a quick nod before they were starting forward and after going through a tunnel in the dark they came to an incline where stalagmites and pools were different colors. At the top of the hill where there was water pouring from either side she looked at Julia who was mimicking her sister who was holding up her arms. She did the same as they then went down and to the right and wasn't surprised to hear Julia's cries as they picked up speed.

Going through turns and hills they soon came to a second incline where they had a view of the park and Julia said loudly to her mother, "I wonder where Eliza is."

"Hopefully at the ranch," Castle called back before they were at the top and then dropped down into a right hand turn. He yelled as Alexis cried out next to him while they went through another drop and then came into a building where shaking rocks and rumbling sounds were meant to signify that dynamite had exploded and was collapsing the rocks.

Outside at the top they dropped to the right again before going to the left and by a skeleton of a Tyrannosaurus Rex and then slowing down to small buildings that were meant to be an old west town. At the loading station they got off the train and as they walked through the exit the twins and Julia were leading the way, recounting their ride together in their excitement.

"So now is a good time for lunch," Mary said, checking her watch. "Going this way we walk into Fantasyland."

"That's where Eliza will be able to go on most of the rides," Alexis said. "And we can go to Mickey's Toontown too, remember I told you about that land?"

"We do," Castle said. "And we were talking about it this morning, if you want we can take Eliza there after her nap and you guys can go with the McDouglases on other rides."

"That would be fun," Julia said eagerly. "But Skye?"

"Yes?" the woman asked as they turned into a barbeque restaurant.

"When can we go to the other park?" Julia asked.

"What we usually do is go on all the rides here once and when we finish up in Tomorrowland we go across to the other park," Skye explained. "Now you are in no way obligated to follow us but-"

"It's fine," Castle and Beckett said at the same time together.

"You're our guides and you know this park right?" Castle said then.

"Very well," Mary said.

"A lot well, we come all the time," Marie said with a smile up at them.

"Then we'll follow your lead," Beckett said. "Plus I think Julia's enjoying going on the rides with your daughters."

"Okay then we'll see the animals, have lunch and let Eliza have some fun?" Skye suggested. When the others all nodded she laughed and said, "Right then let's keep going," before they continued to the ranch.

* * *

"Good horsie," Eliza was saying as she patted the carousel horse she was riding as it was coming to a stop. "No apple Daddy?"

"I'm afraid not sweetheart," Castle said, smiling at her. "You had fun right?"

"We're not done yet," Beckett reminded him as the carousel came to a complete stop and she climbed down from her horse. She smiled down at Julia who had run over to her and said, "Skye kept us from one ride for her last one before her nap."

"Peter Pan?" Eliza asked as she walked with her parents, holding their hands.

"It is," Skye said as they met up at the exit. "And my dad loves this one; you'll see why when we go." She and Kathleen led the way to the exit; as by then the lines were long throughout the park; and she said, "You'll like this Eliza, we get to ride flying ships."

Looking up at her parents, since she was standing and couldn't see through everyone in front of them, she had no idea what she was talking about until they came up themselves to the loading platform. Eliza's eyes went wide and her mouth dropped open at the sight of the ship attached to a track above so it did look like it was flying. Sitting in between her parents she cried out when they moved but then laughed when her father mimicked holding a steering wheel. "You don't fly Daddy," she said to him.

"Too bad that would have been really fun," Castle told her he before leaned over to look at his wife. "I'm glad you enjoyed these."

"I could have done without the continuous song on Small World," Beckett replied with a soft laugh. "But these rides are nice, perfect for you."

Eliza smiled at that before they passed the other loading platform and then started the ride. After going by the main characters and flying through a 'window' they came to a city and she cried out, "Home?"

"No it's London, we'll see this soon," Beckett told her as they flew around it, seeing across from them at one point Alexis with Julia in the ship ahead. After they waved she then said, "I think I know why Skye's dad likes this."

"Me too," Castle said before they then passed the city view. They went through more scenes from the movie, dipping down and flying around until they came to where they'd gotten onto the ride. Carrying Eliza to the others he asked, "What did you think?"

"I liked it," the toddler said firmly before she giggled. "Go again?"

"Maybe later," Beckett said as Hayden came over to them. "Thank you so much for this."

"I could do with a rest myself," the man replied with a smile as Castle was kissing Eliza on the cheek.

"We'll see you after your nap, it won't be too long today but you do need to get some sleep," Beckett told the toddler after she had taken her from her husband. She kissed her and then gave her to Alexis for her and Julia to say goodbye to her.

Watching the two walk towards the castle, Beckett said, "They can take the monorail right?"

"He will," Mary answered. "That way he doesn't need to walk all the way back to the hotel. But she'll have a nice ride if she doesn't fall asleep before they get to Downtown Disney."

"Can we go back to the big rides now Mummy, Mommy?" Kathleen asked then as they started to walk together in the opposite direction.

"We can," Skye replied. She then looked at Castle, Beckett and their daughters and simply pointed to the snow covered mountain to their right.

"That's the Matterhorn?" Julia asked eagerly, hurrying to catch up to the twins.

"It is, it is sooo fun," Marie said, her twin nodding as she was speaking.

"Yeah, are you going to come on the death track with us?" Kathleen then asked.

"Death track?" Alexis asked in surprise.

"One time when I was here with my dad we went to the point where you decide which side you're going to ride on," Skye explained. "When it was one line up to that point. There was a worker there and he said we had a choice of either the death track which is the left one or the life track which is on the right. I can't remember the last time we went on the right."

"How are we sitting on this death track?" Castle asked as he knew which side they were going to go on.

After they'd gotten to the exit of the left track they boarded the 'bobsleds' in groups of three with Skye and Mary taking the last one together to be joined by a single rider at the loading station.

After going inside the mountain Beckett looked at her husband who was behind her in the last seat in their bobsled. She laughed as he then yelled up to Marie; who was at the front of the one attached to theirs; to watch out for the yeti before the little girl merely cried out in response. At the top they then turned and the ride began, leaving her a little bit in a rush to catch up as they picked up speed and soon were nearly flying around the mountain. She was aware that there was a 'yeti' since they quickly passed a figure and at times heard roars and saw red eyes. But what took her attention more was the sight of the park when they were outside though she couldn't see it for long. She was soon laughing as a few drops had her nearly flying out of her seat and eventually they came down to the end, going through a pool of water where Alexis and the girls ahead of her put their arms up.

"I can see why you liked that ride," Castle said once they'd gotten out and were waiting for Skye and Mary. "It's almost like the Cyclone."

"Not as violent though," Alexis told her father. "I've never heard of anyone getting a black eye on this one."

"We made it," Skye said, coming up to them once they'd gotten off the ride. "Was a close call with that yeti though. Now we can head over to Tomorrowland." As they were walking in that direction; the twins with Julia leading the way; she then said, "There are a couple rides you might want to wait for Eliza to go on."

"Star Tours?" Castle asked.

With a smile as Beckett shook her head; smiling herself; Skye replied, "No there's the _Finding Nemo_ submarines here."

Seeing the yellow submarines going through the lagoon to their left, Beckett opened her mouth to speak when she then heard the twins and Julia starting to sing the song together. "I think she's enjoying herself," she said wryly to Castle.

"Not a doubt in my mind that she is," he replied before they turned to Skye.

"And the others are the Buzz Lightyear ride," she told them. She explained that one quickly before she pointed out some colored cars going around a track. "Autopia and Eliza's the right height to be able to drive but someone needs to go with her."

"Anything else?" Castle asked.

"There's the Astro Orbitor," Mary added. "It's like the Dumbo ride you took her on, just space themed and taller."

"Okay so now we know what to do when they come back," Castle said, checking his watch. "About twenty minutes." At his wife's nod he took her hand as they continued to follow the others and he said, "Since I can't ask Julia, which ride would you want to go on again?"

With a smile at that, Beckett told him, "Probably Thunder Mountain. And I can already guess which one you want to go on."

When she gestured back at the Matterhorn Castle chuckled for a second and said, "Either that or Indiana Jones."

"I'd hold back on that until we go through the whole park to be so definitive," Skye said. "But those are rides we will make sure to go on again. And also the ones at Fantasyland so Eliza will have her rides once more."

"Small World?" Castle asked. When Skye nodded he groaned saying, "Never going to get that song out of my head."

"He's right, it'll be difficult," Beckett said, though she sounded like she was laughing as she spoke.

"At least you have this one," Mary commented as they neared the Star Tours ride.

When they'd gotten to the entrance they were led to where they were given 3D glasses before being sent to one of four loading stations. Inside the vehicle after watching the safety instruction video Julia looked at her parents to her left and Alexis to her right before saying, "Are you excited Daddy?"

Castle didn't have a chance to respond to that as an employee was talking to them about the ride a final time but he was able to nod his head yes to her before the doors were closed and the cover on the screen in front of them came down. He was very quickly enjoying the ride as the Starspeeder they were on was stopped by Darth Vader before they were in lightspeed. They came to Hoth and flew through a battle before they were on the edge of a cliff. As they were going down the side he felt Julia's hand grab his before he laughed at the exhilaration at feeling as if they were actually riding through the snow. After, back in space and a hologram message from Princess Leia, he looked at Julia and said, "They should have picked you as the spy," as a picture of one of the riders; a child; had been shown on the screen.

The little girl smiled and shook her head before they were in lightspeed again and she looked at the planet, trying to figure out which it was. "It's Naboo!" she said to her father. At his nod she cried out in laughter as the Starspeeder fell into the ocean and they went through before coming back up until they came to a stop. She clapped as Marie and Kathleen were doing the same and said, "Did you like it Daddy?"

"I loved it, I wish Eliza could go on it too," Castle said as they were leaving. He took Julia's hand once they'd dropped off the glasses and said, "But we'll have to go on that one again."

"You might see a different set of scenarios," Alexis told them. She then said to her stepmother, "How'd you like it?"

"It was fun," Beckett assured her and Julia, the latter looking towards her questioningly. "And I agree, we'll have to try this one again."

By then they had made their way down to the gift shop the ride exited out on and Castle merely glanced around before he walked to the other room of the shop, seeing his wife looking at him in surprise when she followed him. "I would like to wait for Eliza to be here before we look in more detail."

"We can do that," Skye said as she'd heard them. "Now our favorite ride."

"Space Mountain!" Julia exclaimed as they walked past some pictures of people on the ride. "Oh, we can go on this?"

"You can," Mary replied. "Think she'll like it Alexis?"

"If she liked the Matterhorn she'll like this one," the young woman replied, smiling as her sister; holding her hand; jumped up once in excitement. She then said, "I'm glad you have these passes."

"We are too," Skye replied, looking back as they were walked through the exit. She smiled when she saw Castle and Beckett and said, "Before we had them we relied on the Fastpasses."

"We were wondering about those," Beckett told her.

"You get a ticket," Skye started to explain. "And then you have an hour which you have to come back to the line in and you get a little bit of a jump through the line."

"Probably the best idea the park ever had," Castle commented as they neared the loading station.

"Not the rides?" Julia asked.

"Those too," Castle said, not surprised when she laughed at that. "Okay so this time," he told her when he saw people rode in pairs. "You ride with me."

Looking back at Alexis and her mother who were standing together behind them, Julia smiled and said, "Okay."

"Remember your hat sweetie," Beckett said before they were allowed to get on the ride's vehicle that was shaped like a rocket.

When they were sitting and had their lap bars down Castle smiled as the little girl next to him trembled playfully in excitement saying, "Is it all in the dark?" to the twins ahead of them.

"Yeah!" Marie and Kathleen both replied before they moved to where an employee made a quick check of the lap bars.

Heading to the right after getting to the end of the track they started up a small hill and Beckett laughed with Alexis as Castle ahead of them pretended to yell as he tickled Julia's side. "Maybe one of us should have ridden with her," she called up to him teasingly.

"I'll be good," Castle said to his wife hurriedly before they reached the top. There they passed strobe lights before they were in a tunnel with blue lights that were flashing and he said, to Julia, "This is awesome!"

"It is," the little girl agreed before she laughed in excitement and a little nervousness as she still wasn't sure what the ride would be like. After that tunnel they turned to the right and went into another incline where there was a swirling galaxy at the top. She pointed it out to her father before all of a sudden it vanished in a swirl and they were turning after a countdown. And there the ride began, making her scream in her surprise as she held onto the bar in front of her tightly as they were going fast. She tried to look around but there was too much wind to see much besides a little of the track and stars.

Going into a dip Beckett became a little disoriented as they were moving in the dark quickly enough for that to happen. She was laughing though as she could hear her husband's excited yells in front of her, knowing that he was enjoying the ride. She was also relived to hear Julia screaming in joy as they turned or dipped and when they reached a bright tunnel where flashes of a camera went off she turned to Alexis saying, "Okay?"

"Yeah," the young woman said with a soft laugh. "Takes you a while to catch up," she commented, not surprised Beckett nodded in agreement.

"We went up twice we had a long ways to get down," Castle said, turning back to them.

When they had gotten off and were going through the exit Skye was putting her glasses back on telling Julia who had come up to Marie who was with her, "Just as a precaution, I don't need my glasses flying off. But congratulations, you've conquered Space Mountain Julia, how did you like it?"

"It was awesome," the little girl said exuberantly. "I wanna go on it again, in the front!"

"Okay, so-" Skye began before her phone rang. "Ah, that'll be Dad… yep; he is at this moment making his way back to us with Eliza. What ride to you want to wait for them at?"

"Nemo," Julia and then the twins said at the same time. They shared a smile as the adults laughed at that and then went with them over to the ride which was next to where the Monorail station was.

"There she is," Castle said when he spotted Hayden with Eliza in his arms. He hurried to the bottom of the stairs where the man exited and took her from him, hugging her tightly. "Morning sweetheart, how was your nap?"

"Good," Eliza said, blushing as her mother and sisters then came over to her, kissing her cheeks. "What do we go to now?"

"This one," Julia answered.

"It's Nemo, hear the seagulls?" Alexis asked as they could hear them saying mine; as in the movie; while they were walking into line since it wasn't that long. She took her little sister after she leaned over towards her and kissed her cheek saying, "It's going to be a great ride."

Once they got to the submarine and were inside it, Eliza was pressing her face to the window they were in front of on Beckett's lap. "Where is Nemo Mommy?" she asked her.

"We'll see him soon," Castle answered for his wife. "The ride has to start first." When the submarine began to move he watched Eliza and Julia react to the scenes outside the windows of the lagoon and also the animated characters from the movie. As they were leaving he told Skye, "You were right."

"Wait for the next one," the investigator said. "Two by two on this one," she then said. "So girls…"

Watching as the twins went to their mothers, Beckett said, "Two by two?"

"Yeah, it's a game," Mary took up as they continued to walk again. "And we pair off like this beforehand since they love this ride."

"It's more a game," Marie said.

"Okay so how are we going to pair up ourselves?" Castle asked his family then.

"I'll take Eliza," Alexis said quickly.

"I'll go with Mommy," Julia said.

"I guess that leaves the two of us," Castle told Hayden.

"Good luck, I'm a fairly good shot on this," the man said in amusement.

"We'll see…" Castle said before they went through the exit. "And I'm not kidding, since I've never done this before."

With the group laughing at that they went onto the ride vehicles in pairs before they set off into it which had scenes with different targets on them for the riders to start shooting at.

In their car Alexis spent more time helping Eliza aim and fire at the targets instead of getting them herself. She also played with the joystick that moved the vehicle around in circles to the toddler's delight. When their guns stopped getting points she said, "Looks like you won Lizzy."

"I did?" Eliza asked eagerly, looking at the scores on the top of the car. She couldn't understand the large number but trusted her sister so as she carried her off at the exit she wrapped her arms around her tightly saying, "Thank you."

"You're welcome," Alexis replied as they waited in a gift shop for the others behind to join them.

"Now we're going to drive," Skye said. "And after that?"

Though Eliza was tugging on her hand Beckett said, "We can head to the other park then. I think we have enough time later to go on anything else. Yes Eliza?"

"Drive?" the toddler asked. She cried out in surprise when her father picked her up and placed her on his shoulders and she looked back to her mother to see if she would answer her question.

"Yes drive and you get to do that this time," Castle answered instead. "But someone has to go with you."

"You," Eliza said as soon as he'd finished speaking.

"Can I go in my own car?" Julia asked.

"We are," Marie and Kathleen said as they were heading to the exit and to a flight of stairs.

After showing their passes everyone got into a car; Eliza being the only one who had someone with her. Once her father had started to press on the gas for her she began to turn the wheel back and forth until he had to grab it. She giggled and then said, "I can drive Daddy."

"I hope so, you're going to end up falling out of the car," Castle joked. "And your mom would not be happy with me if I let that happen." He smiled as the toddler giggled again and he leaned over to kiss the top of her head before he let her drive them down the track, her laughter loud as they went past the foliage and props on either side of them.

* * *

"This is really well done," Beckett was saying as they walked down the Buena Vista Street entrance to the California Adventure park.

"It looks like architecture you'd see in the thirties," Castle said. "Well, here in California."

"You'll get more of that," Mary said. "Keep coming this way though."

"We're following," Beckett said, her hand on Julia's back since the little girl was trying to look at a map of the park. "Come on, we'll see more faster."

"I know," Julia replied before she then folded the paper back up. Handing it to her mother she said with a smile, "Where are we going first."

"It's still a surprise," Kathleen called back.

"How are your pictures going?" Alexis asked as she watched Julia taking pictures of the buildings and scenery around them while they walked.

"Good, I'm going to have a ton," Julia said firmly in response. She then laughed and said, "But that's not a surprise, is it Mommy."  
"No," Beckett said with a slight laugh herself. "So will I." When they went past a little vineyard with real grapes she said, "Look Eliza, it's the town from _Cars_."

Gasping eagerly, since the toddler loved that movie, Eliza said, "Springs?"

"Radiator Springs," Castle said, holding her feet that she'd started kicking. He patted her leg and said, "It looks like it would in real life doesn't it?" He could feel her nodding her head above him and asked, "What can she go on here?"

"This, Mater's Junkyard Jamboree," Skye answered. They stopped near the entrance and she asked, "Want to see what we're going on?"

"Think I could take her through the exit?" Hayden asked his daughter and daughter in law.

"You can try," Mary said first. "If not you can take her walking around if her parents want to wait to take her on this ride."

"We would," Beckett said. When they'd started walking again she reached up to her daughter and holding her hand said, "We'll go on more of your rides again."

"Thank you Mommy," Eliza said with a wide smile. She squeezed her hand before she giggled and pointed at huge traffic cones before they went to a building that looked like a fire station before she looked at Julia who was speaking.

"It says sheriff," the little girl read. "And in the middle it says Radiator Springs."

"Okay, here's the ride," Skye said as they came to a sign saying Radiator Springs Racers. "You four are coming with us; they can go stay at the exit to check things out but no stopping to look at anything."

"What if we want to see how the ride is?" Alexis said in mock protest.

"No, no," Skye said solemnly though her daughters were giggling at her tone and her heavy British accent with that. "Can't be having any of that. No we would like to surprise you."

"We like to do that with friends we bring for the first time," Mary said. "It's fun. And so you know this ride is a good kid ride with a little bit of older kid ride at the end."

"Oh well I have to go now with that description," Castle said, making the others laugh.

"Me too, vague enough to have me hooked," Alexis said.

Waving to Eliza and Hayden as they went through the exit and then left the two at a certain point Beckett took her husband's hand, blocking his view when he tried to look back at the ride since part of the track was right next to the path. "You heard her Rick," she told him teasingly. "None of that."

Looking at her with slightly wide eyes as she'd taken on a British accent herself, Castle said, "But what if I want… Oh fine."

"It's a six person car," Mary then told them before they got too close. "So we'll take our daughters in one on our own."

"Sounds good," Castle said. "And I managed not to look."

"You were close though," Skye said with a laugh before they went down the stairs to the loading platform.

In their car Castle and Beckett sat in the front with Julia; though they'd told Alexis she could sit up front too; and the young woman sat behind them.

"How can I drive when there's no wheel?" Julia asked jokingly as the car started to move.

"With your mind," Beckett commented. She smirked when her husband nearly jerked next to her, looking at her, and she finished with, "As your daddy would say."

Julia giggled before the car took off down the track and they drove through a scenic route that looked like it could be in the southwest of the country with reddish rocks and trees. When they got to a bridge she pointed down at the line they could see before they then went into a building. She felt a little bad as then it was like the rides they'd went on with Eliza in Fantasyland, only scenes from the movie _Cars_. "Why couldn't she go on this?" she asked her mother then in her guilt.

"There is that older kid ride they said would be part of it," Alexis told her from the back, having to yell a little to be heard.

Before Julia could respond to that the car was setting up for a race with the car where the McDouglases were sitting. She waved to them before they suddenly took off on what looked like a little race track with dips and turns outside. At one point they passed Eliza and Hayden at the exit and she screamed her sister's name before they came into the building where they'd gotten on the ride. "That was awesome!" she exclaimed once they were stopped.

"You're right, this one we'll have to go on again," Alexis replied.

"Are you crying Mommy?" Julia asked with a laugh as her mother was wiping the tears trailing from the corners of her eyes.

"It's sad I know, when a ride ends," Castle told her teasingly. He laughed when she smacked his chest lightly with the back of her hand and he took it with his own, kissing the back of it.

Beckett was a little startled at that but she smiled and squeezed his hand before they needed to unbuckle their seatbelts to get out. "So was there an actual race?" she asked as they caught up to Skye, Mary and the twins.

"There was, you won," Kathleen answered.

"She's right but you liked that one too?" Skye asked.

"A lot," Julia said, smiling as her big sister nodded in agreement. "We can go on it again later right?"

"Before we head back to Disneyland," Mary said. "Usually how we do it. But now time for Eliza's turn on a ride."

When they reached the two still at the exit Castle and Beckett smiled as both their daughters were exclaiming over the ride though one had only seen it and the other had ridden on it. They didn't mind though, enjoying the way their daughters were talking together as they headed to the next ride.

After going on it, which was a lot like the tea cup ride in Disneyland except were tractors, the group went to the next land which was Hollywood Land that was decorated in 1930's décor reminiscent of studios from the time period. There they went on a ride that Eliza could go on first that was like the Peter Pan and other rides of Fantasyland, though that one featured the movie _Monsters Inc_. It was from there they went to the Tower of Terror, where Mary and Kathleen stayed behind with Hayden and Eliza to wait to see them. And after they'd gone on the ride Beckett and Skye walked together after the others, talking as they made their way back to where the rest of their families were waiting.

"I'm surprised Mary doesn't like that one," Beckett said to her friend.

"It's more because of the elevator part of it, she got stuck in one when she was younger," Skye explained. "It traumatized her a bit so I try not to push her to go on it."

"There are more rides for Eliza now right?" Castle asked.

"In the next land, it's like Fantasyland without the Matterhorn, A Bug's Land," Skye replied with a smile as they joined the others.

Going through that land they went on every ride, ending with a train with the caterpillar of the movie the land was named after, _A Bug's Life_. From there Skye and her family led them to the rides Soarin' Over California and Grizzly River Run, which both Eliza and Hayden sat out on again and went back to the _Bug's Life_ land. When they'd gone through all the rides in the Paradise Pier land they made their way back to the Radiator Springs Racers before heading to the entrance. After taking a vote; which Skye and Mary led jokingly; everyone agreed they wanted to head back to Disneyland which they did immediately after.

Splitting up into groups the McDouglases went towards Frontierland while Beckett took Julia and Eliza with her to Adventureland and Castle and Alexis headed back to the Matterhorn, all of them agreeing to meet up in an hour at Indiana Jones. Waving they headed off, the girls holding their mother's hands and skipping next to her in excitement while Alexis held her dad's arm as they rushed to their first ride.

* * *

"Stop spinning so much," Beckett laughed as she tried to hold the wheel in the center of their teacup steady.

"No Mommy, more!" Eliza cried, soon laughing too.

"Yeah as fast as we can!" Julia said before she then groaned as their cup soon slowed down and they couldn't turn it anymore.

"Good thing, though are you two sure that you want to go on the carousel?" Beckett asked, waiting for the tea cups to stop before she opened the door to let them out. She wasn't too surprised when she got two very loud yeses in response and she smiled as she carried Eliza to the ride with Julia holding her hand tightly. She stood next to her youngest as the ride went around, though she stood in between her daughters. She took a number of pictures before she turned her attention to the view outside the ride then taking pictures until the ride stopped of whatever she could.

"Wanna stay," Eliza complained though she then beamed at her mother.

"You're learning too much from your daddy," Beckett teased her. When they had walked off the ride she asked, "Want to try and see if you can get the sword out of the stone?" When her daughters both nodded she led them around the carousel to where it was in front of the ride.

Just before that Castle and Alexis were finishing the Buzz Lightyear ride and the latter was playfully flexing her arm in front of her father's face.

"Okay, okay so you won," Castle said in mock annoyance. "I taught you well with our laser tag."

Alexis laughed at that until she suddenly stopped while they left the ride, realizing that she wasn't going to have as many opportunities to play that with him as she'd had before going to Columbia. She leaned against her dad and wrapped her arms around him tightly and said, "You were pretty close though."

"You'll have to show the girls the picture you took of our scores," Castle said before he hugged her. "And whenever you want when you're back home just let me know and we'll do battle again sweetheart."

Smiling as she wasn't surprised he'd figured out what she was thinking Alexis nodded and said, "I will Dad. Now where?"

"Well, Kate texted me that they were going on the carousel last so I say we meet up with them there and go back to Indiana Jones together," Castle said. As they walked from Tomorrowland and out to the statue of Walt Disney with Mickey Mouse in front of the castle he said, "We'll have to take a picture here. Send it to your Gram and Jim… everyone."

"When we're all together again," Alexis replied before they headed to the castle. "They're at the sword in the stone," she pointed out to her father with a smile before they started to walk quicker towards them at the same time.

"Any luck little knights?" Castle asked when they were close enough.

"Not little Daddy," Julia said immediately.

"I'm a knight!" Eliza cried. "But I don't get it Daddy."

"Want to see if I can?" Castle then asked. He wasn't surprised when the girls nodded but looked at his wife and daughter as they did the same too. "Really?"

"To see if you can get it out Rick," Beckett said simply, trying not to laugh.

Shaking his head, though a smile was playing at the corners of his lips, Castle pretended to struggle hard with the sword, making his family laugh until he collapsed, mimicking breathing hard. "I can't get it either," he told them. "Why don't we stick to rides for now?" When the girls both threw themselves at him he picked up Eliza and then took Julia's hand as they headed back towards Adventureland while they talked to each other about the rides they'd gone on while separated.

"Hey so how was it?" Skye asked when they met in front of the ride.

"Fun!" Eliza said, making them all smile at her to her giggle.

"I think that sums it up nicely," Mary said while Hayden was taking the toddler's hand after her father had put her down. "So Skye didn't tell you but around now we have a snack from… wherever we're at and rest a bit before we all go on one ride each person picks out."

"We go from oldest to youngest," Skye then added. "But again, you don't-"

"No but we'd like to," Beckett said as Eliza had run to her and she could see that Julia was squeezing Castle's hand. "I think they want a snack."

"Okay then we'll go over here," Skye said with a laugh, leading them over to the stand called Tropical Imports next to the Jungle Cruise.

Getting their snacks and drinks, the group went over to sit next to the entrance to the Indiana Jones ride.

"Sweetie, take a bite," Beckett told Eliza who was looking at the temple she was seeing for the first time. She held the pineapple spear they were sharing for the toddler to bite and then asked, "Good?" as she was drying off her mouth.

Nodding Eliza looked at her father and sisters, the latter two sharing another spear. "Do I go in?" she asked, pointing to the temple.

"This was the one they went on while we went in the treehouse," Hayden said, leaning over from where he was sitting and smiling as the toddler nodded to him. "I was thinking, since the twins will be with us, we could walk down the street in New Orleans Square and look at the shops."

"Mommy-" Eliza started to say.

"You can," Beckett and Castle said at the same time, smiling at her. When she squirmed in between them they both kissed the top of her head before they turned their attention back to their snack.

After they'd all finished they split up again and promised to meet at the exit for Pirates of the Caribbean where they'd go on next as Eliza had picked that one as her choice.

Going through the exit of Indiana Jones Castle asked, "Are you breaking with your tradition going on this first?"

"Not really," Mary replied. "We just went on this one since we were here already."

"But next we'll start on the picks we make," Skye said as they neared the loading platform. "So everyone start thinking… after this ride," she said when they got to the jeeps for the ride.

Going through the ride that time Julia insisted that her mother sit behind the wheel and she held her hand on the wheel tightly until they'd come back around to the loading station. "What if I picked that ride to go on again?" she asked her mother.

"That's fine," Castle said hurriedly. When his daughters and wife looked to him at his tone he said, "We kind of forgot something love."

"That land for Eliza," Beckett replied. "We were so eager to get to the other park…"

"That's alright," Skye said, having been listening to them since they were walking together. "We can go now."

"Will they want to?" Castle said before he looked thoughtful.

"What's on your mind Rick?" Beckett asked as she watched him.

"You want to split up again?" Castle asked the others.

"We could do that, after we go on the two rides that are there," Skye told them. "After those two it's the houses of the characters."

Looking at the map that they'd gotten earlier Alexis said, "She's right." At the glances of her family she smiled and told them, "I went on one ride but that was it. And I would still want to go through the land with you if you were going to suggest Julia and I go with Skye and Mary after."

"Let's wait to decide what we want to do," Beckett said as they stepped outside from the ride's building. "And see where Eliza would like to go." When the others agreed to that they made their way to New Orleans Square where they met up with their families again and made their way to the land.

"Can I see Mickey?" Eliza asked from Castle's shoulders as they neared It's a Small World and then headed to the left.

"Yeah we're gonna go see his house," Julia told her sister. "I want to meet him too."

"I think we'll have another picture for our parents love," Castle told his wife.

"Are you going to join them?" Beckett asked her stepdaughter.

Smiling at that, Alexis nodded and said, "You read my mind-"

"She's good at that," Castle cut in.

"I was planning to join my sisters," Alexis said, shaking her head as Eliza giggled. When they reached the first of the two rides that Skye had been talking about she said, "This was the one I went on, you're going to love it you two."

"It has cars?" Julia guessed since the name of it was Roger Rabbit's Car Toon Spin.

"It does and we can go in pairs," Alexis said. They all looked over at the McDouglases, seeing that they were pairing off together, leaving Skye on her own.

"I'm a bit unpopular," the woman said, her tone of voice joking.

"I'll ride with you," Alexis said.

Julia went with Castle and Eliza with her mother as they went through the exit and got into the cars which were the taxi cabs from the film the ride was based on. It was like the rides from Fantasyland where they went through scenes on a track but the steering wheel in the car allowed them to spin around if they wanted to, which the girls used as often as they could.

Going through the rest of the land Julia led her sister to the interactive things like cartoonish shaped crates they could lift the lid on and hear a voice inside. When they got to the first of the cartoon houses the two families decided to stay together and they let the kids go through the houses as Alexis followed and the adults went to a seating area nearby. After they'd toured the houses except for Mickey's they went to the second ride, which was a more kid friendly roller coaster. From there they went to the last house, Eliza holding her parents' hands tightly in her eagerness to see the character.

"Look it's Pluto's house," Julia pointed out to her sister when they'd gone through the house and were stepping outside.

"And look at the vegetables, they're huge," Castle said, pointing to the garden and the exaggeratedly oversize produce.

"Mickey is a big mouse Daddy," Eliza said.

"Oh of course," Castle said, smiling at the toddler's serious tone.

When they stepped into a barn next Eliza tried to walk faster though her parents kept her from doing so. She wanted to protest that but they then came into a screening room where they watched some clips of Mickey Mouse in cartoons and movies. From there they went into the next room and she gasped softly as she saw the character was there. At Castle and Beckett's urging she went over to her sisters and together they waited for their turn to go to Mickey. As soon as they could she was rushing to him and said, "You have funny cartoons. I like them a lot."

Beckett shared a smile with her husband at that and they watched as the mouse mimicked laughing before waving to her. She took a picture with her camera while Castle was getting one with his phone of their daughters with the mouse and after they were outside she said, "It was nice of you to tell him that sweetie."

"It is truth," Eliza replied firmly. When her father moved to pick her up she shook her head and instead let her mother take her. She smiled and said, "That was fun. Now what?"

"Well we left off on the list," Hayden reminded them.

"That's right, so I think it's back to Pirates," Castle said. "That is what you want to ride on right?" he asked Eliza. When she smiled and nodded he laughed and as they went back to New Orleans Square he said, "I wonder how the list will go."

"We'll soon find out," Skye replied, watching as Beckett set down the toddler.

With Alexis and the four girls walking arm in arm together ahead of the adults they led the way back through the park, joking with each other about what rides they would pick until they reached Eliza's choice and headed inside to board the bateaux again.

* * *

"So we went on Pirates," Julia was saying to her mother as she was writing that down on a piece of paper.

"Any reason why you want a list?" Castle asked as he looked at her writing.

"Just 'cause I don't want to forget what we went on," Julia said. "Well, for that list."

"You're going to tell Mari about that?" Alexis asked.

Julia nodded before she said, "Eliza picked that. Then Kathleen picked Splash Mountain and I'm glad she did 'cause I was getting hot."

"Me too," Eliza said, watching her sister interestedly. "I got wet too."

"Good thing Liam got that bottle of water for you," Beckett said, cupping her cheek with her hand.

"And Marie picked Thunder Mountain… I think we just picked in order," Julia said, looking up at the others at their table at the Café Orleans they were eating dinner at. "'Cause then I just picked the Matterhorn."

"I think she might have a point," Alexis said. "Since we went to Space Mountain for my choice, then Mary picked Star Tours and Skye and you Kate took us back to Indiana Jones and Thunder Mountain."

"Surprised I picked the Racers ride next door aren't you?" Castle asked his family. He couldn't help laugh when they all nodded their heads and he said, "I did enjoy that one so I couldn't help go on it one last time."

"It doesn't have to be the last time," Alexis told him. "Since we have another… six hours to go."

"That long?" Castle asked, looking at his watch. "That's true but we do need to eat and then go through Fantasyland before we hit the big rides again."

"I wanna go to the boat," Eliza said.

As their food was being served then and they ate a few bites to try out what they'd ordered Beckett waited to respond to that and asked the toddler, "Which one? The animals or the pirates."

"Pirates!" Eliza exclaimed.

"What about the show they have later on?" Alexis asked her dad and stepmother.

"Do you guys go to that?" Castle asked the McDouglases who were at the table next to them.

"That's when we head to the rides, since the lines do cut down quite a bit," Skye replied. "Thinking about it I've never seen the show that's going to be out here on the island."

"They never wanted to see it?" Beckett asked a little doubtfully.

"No we go on the rides," Marie answered solemnly almost. She then smiled and said, "Mommy and Mummy always ask though… or they did."

"Now we're older we tell them," Kathleen said. "We forgot this time."

"So anyone want to see the show?" Mary asked them all. "Show of hands… Eliza?"

The toddler was eating some of the carrots that came with her macaroni and cheese and after she finished she said, "Do I have to see?"

"No but they have characters from the movies and Mickey and Minnie," Skye explained. "So from the cartoons too. And there are fireworks."

"Oh that decided it," Castle said, not surprised when Eliza shook her head rapidly.

"Yeah that was the reason they didn't want to see it when they were her age," Mary said, nodding to the twins. "Then we'll go on rides that you can go on okay?"

"Thank you," Eliza said seriously before she smiled at the woman and then went back to her food.

When they'd finished eating nearly an hour later, Kathleen piped up, "Are we going to get dessert?"

Smiling at her daughter and leaning over to kiss her forehead Skye sat up straight and told the others, "We order the _beignets_ for dessert, even if we don't eat here in this land."

"Another tradition?" Castle asked. When the woman nodded he said, "We'll join in."

"No I never had them," Alexis said as Skye was ordering for them and her family turned to her. "But they should be good."

When they got their plate with the dessert Julia said, "Look Lizzy, they're Mickey shaped!" She smiled when her sister giggled and reached out for the one she held before their father handed her one too.

"Dip it in this sauce sweetie," Beckett told her, helping her do so. "It'll taste like fruit."

After taking a bite of one of the ears, Eliza wriggled in her chair and hummed in pleasure before eating another bite.

"I'll agree with her," Castle said as they were watching her. "These are pretty good."

"Very," Julia added, giggling as some of the fruit sauce dripped on her chin. "I can't wait for more rides still."

When they'd finished eating and saw the McDouglases were too Beckett told her, "Now we can go back to them. Skye."

"Yes?" the woman asked at the call of her name. She glanced at Beckett and seemed to suddenly understand what she wasn't saying telling her, "I guess we're heading to Small World first."

Eliza clapped her hands together at that before she was picked up by her father and she went on his shoulders as they were leaving. She looked around them and said to Castle, "I wanna see the aminals."

"When we go on Thunder Mountain again we'll see if Liam will take you," he told her. When he felt her nod he patted her leg as they went past where the ranch was and into Fantasyland. At the ride he set Eliza down so she could join her sisters in the front of the boat before they started down the track. When they got inside the building Castle wrapped his arm around Beckett's shoulders and felt her lean her head on his. He rubbed her arm as they watched their oldest trying to take pictures with her sisters' help and when they got to where Lilo and Stitch were he tried not to laugh as he could tell that Julia was taking a number of pictures. " _Hopefully she got one_ ," he murmured to his wife.

" _Hopefully_ ," Beckett replied. When they had finished with the ride and were walking through the gift shop at the end she went to the little girl and wasn't surprised when she held up her camera without a word. She leaned down to kiss the top of her head and then looked at the shots she'd taken. "Very nicely done, we'll have to take a look at these on the TV at the beach house if we have time."

"Thank you," Julia said proudly. "Now what."

"Let's let Eliza pick," Alexis said. When the McDouglases agreed with her, she read out the names of the rides, not shocked when the toddler immediately said Peter Pan.

When they were getting close to the ride, Skye said, "Get ready to lead us to the next ride Eliza. We're going to follow you while we're here."

Beckett smiled as Eliza's eyes went wide at that but soon nodded eagerly and it was then she knew what the next ride would be. Especially since the toddler's eyes drifted over to the carousel as she was doing that. She then went after Julia and Eliza, who wanted to ride with her and she waved to her husband and stepdaughter as the ship they boarded took off down the track.

During the ride Julia was leaning against her mother, watching Eliza crying out at everything and pointing. When Beckett asked her if she was tired she shook her head no and said, "Just waiting to go back on the fun rides." She then cried out herself but because her mother had tickled her on her side and she squirmed away before hugging her tightly.

When Eliza hugged her on her other side, Beckett smiled at her daughters before leaning down and kissing the tops of their heads before they came to the exit. As she'd suspected before they went to the carousel next before traveling around the land and ending with the little train. When they had finished with that section of rides they went to the Matterhorn and she watched as Hayden took Eliza towards Autopia. Turning to her husband she said, "She's not going to want to sleep for a while."

"She'll be asleep before we leave though," Castle said, not surprised when Beckett nodded. "I'm surprised you don't want her to go back."

"I think we're going to have to have Hayden take her," Beckett said. "Maybe about ten, ten thirty?"

"I can take Julia and the twins for you guys if you want to split up again," Alexis said then as they headed to the exit. She smiled when they looked at her in surprise and she nodded before saying, "I'll be happy to."

"I think we'll take you up on that offer," Skye said, looking at her wife. Glancing over at Castle and Beckett she almost laughed to see the two had nearly the same expressions on their faces before they hurried to get onto the ride together.

* * *

"Goodnight Eliza, I love you," Beckett was whispering to her youngest who was fast asleep later at ten.

"Sweet dreams sweetheart, I love you too," Castle said, kissing Eliza after Beckett had. He handed her over to Hayden and said, "Let us know when you get back."

"And thank you," Beckett said.

Smiling the man said quietly, "You enjoy your time for the next two hours. Don't do anything crazy."

Shaking her head though there was a slight grin on her face Skye watched her father take the toddler up to the Monorail station before they were out of sight. "Okay he'll text you two when they're in the room. But for now should we split up?"

After agreeing on where to meet in an hour Castle and Beckett; and Skye and Mary; told their daughters to stay with Alexis and they went their separate ways. Skye and Mary headed over to Splash Mountain while Castle and Beckett headed for Tomorrowland. The four girls hurried to the exit of Thunder Mountain and when they had seated themselves in the last two rows Julia was with Marie and Kathleen and Alexis were in front of them.

"I'm going to be so sad to go," Julia said quickly.

"I know," Marie said sympathetically since she knew she could come back while her friend would need to wait to see if she would in the future.

The train started to move and Julia tried to keep her hands up in the air the entire time though it was a little hard to do when they banked. But she was still crying out in joy and once they had slowed down after the dinosaur skeleton she was clapping with the others saying, "I wonder if my mom and dad are going to come on this one."

"More than likely," Alexis said. Once they were off of the ride and outside the exit she had them decide together on the next ride, not surprised that it was the Matterhorn. As they were walking through Fantasyland to it she asked, "You want to head to Tomorrowland after this and just go through that."

"I wish we could have gone to the other park too," Julia said, since it had closed at 10 though they'd gone to it when they had all been together.

"Well we got to go on the Racers ride three times, that's not bad," Alexis pointed out since the twins were agreeing with her sister. She smiled when they then agreed with her and she listened to them talking about San Diego before they reached the ride. She wondered where her father and Beckett were, knowing that wherever it was they were likely having fun as she and her sister were while their bobsleds started to move down the track into the mountain.

* * *

Castle was going through the people that were coming out of Space Mountain with a half hour left of their time, holding his wife's hand as she walked behind him. He was tempted to look back at her when he felt her entwine their fingers but he needed to concentrate on getting to the loading station until they finally reached it. "Mad?" he asked when they sat in the front of the vehicle.

Beckett laughed and shook her head saying, "Why should I be? I don't mind the thrill here in front."

Gulping as that had been said with a slightly seductive tone; that he wasn't sure was intentional; Castle had to focus on the ride as they started to move down the track before they went on the two inclines and then entered the main room of the ride and took off.

It seemed that with it being later the ride was far faster and Beckett found that she was trying to recover with every turn and dip they made. When they had returned to the exit she laughed and said, "They likely went on this."

"Or they will," Castle said with a nod and a laugh as he got off the vehicle with her. "But I hope Julia's alright with it going a lot faster."

"You noticed that too?" Beckett asked him. At his nod she took his hand and led him over to Star Tours as she smiled back at him.

Though Castle was enjoying the ride as they went through different scenarios he was slightly relieved when they were walking down to the gift shop. He couldn't help smile seeing the station where someone could make a lightsaber which he'd done with all three of his daughters.

"You can play when we get home," Beckett told him, since they'd left their purchases with the store to deliver to the hotel.

"I know that already," Castle said. He looked at her and said, "Want to go on any other rides?"

Beckett was a little surprised at that but after she'd studied him for a moment she said, "We'll go on them again with everyone so we should take a break."

Castle smiled and took her hand before they walked through the park until they reached where they were going to meet up, which was in New Orleans Square at what was a small walk up window. "Mint Julep Bar," he read on the wall. "Thirsty?"

"I don't think it's liquor Rick," Beckett replied as he hadn't waited for her to answer before pulling her towards the window. She let him order drinks for them both before they took the cups to the tables and chairs around them. Since he led the way to one she wasn't too taken aback to find them alone; though the dining area was nearly empty already.

When they'd sat down and he had taken the first sip of his drink he said, "Minty."

"And lime too," Beckett replied, having tasted her drink as well after taking the garnish off. She looked at her husband when his arm wrapped around her and she smiled before telling him, "So that's what you were thinking about."

"What?" Castle asked. When his wife merely gave him a look he said, "Alright so I may have been thinking earlier but who's to say it was about you?"

"It was because I know you Rick," Beckett told him easily. She pretended to be a little aloof with that but when he looked at her she finally decided to stop teasing him and leaned over, kissing him on the lips briefly.

Castle was startled at that, as he'd nearly thought she was angry by the tone of her voice, but he decided it didn't matter as he kissed her before she could pull too far away from him. He was again surprised when she pulled away from him after a short time but then saw her putting her cup on the table. Since his was there already he put his hand on her back and leaned in to her at the same time she was doing so. Their lips meeting he carefully slid his tongue across her lower lip, feeling a thrill almost with the way she immediately parted them for him.

Responding to her husband Beckett was cupping his cheek and keeping up with him as he was engaging her tongue in a duel. She nearly wondered why he wasn't being as forceful as he could be but recalled they weren't in the best place to kiss for a long period of time. Finally they parted; a few more kisses of differing duration passing between them; and they turned back to their drinks, holding hands tightly until their friends and daughters returned.

"Hey how were the rides?" Castle asked as the girls were the first to reach them.

"So much fun," Julia said, smiling as she saw the twins nodding their heads in agreement with her. "You did go on rides didn't you?"

"We did," Beckett replied. "All the ones we've been on already. Hey you two," she said, directing the last to Skye and Mary.

"Hey so anyone think of what they'd like to do this last hour we've got?" the investigator asked everyone.

"Marie and Kath told me about what you do when you're here on your own," Julia said. She glanced at Alexis and smiled saying, "They told us both."

"Yeah the last round through the big kid rides," Mary said. At the nods of Julia and Alexis she told Castle and Beckett, "We go on Indiana Jones, Pirates, Thunder Mountain… all of those rides one last time."

"Can you fit them in?" Beckett asked.

"With the passes, yes, but we should go now," Skye said. After Castle and Beckett had got up and they were heading back to Adventureland she paused and said, "One of us is going to have to stay off Indiana Jones," looking at her wife.

"I'll stay," Mary said.

"Why don't we both stay with them and walk around to take some night shots?" Skye then said. "You guys mind going on your own?"

"I think Julia speaks for us all," Castle said with a slight laugh as she was shaking her head no.

Walking over to the exit the group split up and Julia waved to the twins before telling her mother, "I feel bad."

"They'll get taller soon," Beckett assured her.

"Though it's funny they can go on Space Mountain and not this," Alexis said.

"That is funny," Castle agreed. "Okay so we're going to have you drive again Julia."

"Not this time," the little girl protested. "Alexis can."

"You're sure?" the young woman asked her little sister who nodded. She smiled and took her other hand saying, "Then you'll sit next to me."

"Mind if we switch love?" Castle asked his wife. "Tired of that snake."

"Sure," Beckett said with a slight smile before they reached the loading station. She enjoyed herself; knowing it was the last time they'd be on the ride for a while; and as they were going back to the McDouglases she knew the others had thought the same as they were recounting the ride again.

"Mommy?" Julia asked. When her mother said, "Hmm?" she then inquired, "Will we ever come back?"

"I don't think we're sure about that yet," Castle said, glancing at his wife. When she saw her shrug he then told their oldest, "We'll see what happens after this summer."

"You're thinking of another one here?" Beckett asked him.

"From as far north as we can get to down to San Diego," Castle said, knowing from her tone of voice that she was thinking the same. He squeezed her hand that was in his before he told their daughter, "But that we'll need to see about okay?"

"Yeah I just think we should come back when Eliza's older so she can go on the big rides with us," Julia replied. When her parents nodded she then turned her attention ahead of them and to the twins who were waiting at the railing that looked out on the water of the Jungle Cruise. "Pirates next right?" she asked eagerly.

"Right now Miss Julia," Skye said, smiling as the little girl giggled. "Alright who's going to go up front this time around?"

Going to New Orleans Square the group went on the water ride for what turned out to be a third time, Castle and Beckett going in the front with Julia. They went over to Thunder Mountain and as was the case with Space Mountain it felt like that ride was a bit quicker than the daytime operation so the twins and Julia were a little excited as they skipped together over to the Matterhorn. They rode together on one bobsled at the mountain ride, crying out and screaming as their parents listened to them behind them.

"Guys, calm down," Mary said as they went over to Tomorrowland and the three were a little hyper.

"We'll go on Autopia first," Skye suddenly said as they were passing the _Finding Nemo_ ride.

"That's a great idea," Beckett said, trying not to smile when the girls looked back at them in surprise. "A night drive."

"We've done that before," Kathleen said to Julia.

"Yeah, it is fun," Marie added before they shrugged.

Going through Tomorrowland and its rides Skye told the others when they'd gotten off the Buzz Lightyear ride that they still had fifteen minutes left until closing. When they all looked at her and Mary she couldn't help chuckling before saying, "Alright we can go to Main Street and look at what there is to do there."

"We're going to pass by the castle; do you want to take pictures?" Mary asked Castle and Beckett.

"No we're good we got our pictures with Eliza before she left," Castle answered for them. "But what about the gift shops?"

"They stay open an hour after closing so we can take our time there," Skye said. "And we don't have to check out so you'll be able to sleep in as long as you want tomorrow."

"What is there to do?" Julia eventually asked once they were on Main Street.

"The cinema," Marie answered before her mothers could.

Going inside Castle was surprised but pleased to see 6 different screens showing classic Mickey Mouse cartoons. He spotted one that was starting and led Beckett over to it; with Julia and Alexis following; since it was _Mickey's Polo Team_.

With a smile at her husband for picking that cartoon Beckett wrapped her arms around his as she leaned against him when it started. By the time it finished it was nearly closing time so they headed over to the first of the shops that were connected to each other. They let Julia go with Alexis, reminding her they were planning to head to Downtown Disney to go to the store with Eliza the next day and once they were alone she said, "Anything you want?"

"Not really but should we pick up something for the kids we know?" Castle asked.

Beckett thought about that for a moment and said, "That would be a little difficult, unless they have any books?" She followed him to find an employee who could find that out for them before they were told the store at Downtown Disney had a bigger selection, so they decided to look there instead. They then rejoined their daughters and after Julia bought a shirt for Mari, a statue of Stitch for herself and some postcards they met with the McDouglases and headed to the park's exit.

"Today was the best day ever," Julia said, sounding tired as they went out.

"It was," Alexis said, smiling at her. "But don't forget the vacation isn't over yet."

When Julia merely yawned and nodded, Beckett smiled herself, squeezing Castle's hand that was holding hers. She knew her stepdaughter was right though she wasn't ready to start thinking of San Diego just yet. She let go of her husband and then wrapped her arm around him and leaned against him before he reciprocated, holding her tightly against his side as they walked through the closed shops to their hotel with their daughters and friends in exhausted but content silence.


	18. The Breeze Will Carry Us

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The title of this chapter is a lyric from the song Las Brisas written by Ringo Starr and Nancy Andrews, from Ringo's album Ringo's Rotogravure.

Trying to stretch as he saw they were nearing the exit on the 5 freeway that Skye had told him they would need Castle said, "Now we are definitely in San Diego."

"Oh I can't wait!" Julia said. "Did you see this when you came?" she asked Alexis who was sitting with her and Eliza in the back of the car.

"I wasn't on the freeway here," the young woman replied. "But Gram and I did see Mission Bay which is right there."

"You'll be able to see it from the house it looks like," Beckett commented as they got off and were going to the left. "Are you guys sure you're okay with us taking the hotel room?"

"For the last time yes," Alexis said, joking in her tone though.

"Yeah, you won," Eliza said.

"I'm blaming that on you and Skye's father," Beckett said to her husband.

"I didn't think they were serious playing Roshambo for it," Castle replied, since he had done that against Mary as they couldn't figure out which couple would take the hotel room at the Hyatt next to San Diego Bay since the house couldn't hold all nine of them with just three bedrooms.

"But at least Liam said he'd get a room for Skye and Mary for their anniversary," Alexis commented.

"That is true," Beckett replied. "And we're here," she said as they pulled into a driveway of what looked to be a one story house behind Skye in their car.

"Beautiful, windy San Diego," the woman said then she saw the others were out of their car. "We'll get everything in and then head to Old Town."

"What about us checking in?" Castle asked.

"We'll go to your hotel after this," Mary replied. "So you two can check in then and from there we'll use the trolley to get to Old Town and Balboa Park. Though you two will have to come back with us here to bring your girls tonight."

"That's fine, we do need to say goodnight to them here," Beckett said. "So the people who own this place are friends of your father's."

"He's a pilot and he and his wife are from Germany," Skye said with a nod as they went to the front door. She unlocked it and said to the twins, "Show Alexis, Julia and Eliza their bedroom. There's a queen bed in there which I hope works out."

"It will," Alexis replied before they went to their right in a large living room they stepped into from the entry.

"Walk around," Mary said, coming in with her suitcase. "Take a tour and check out their view."

"We'll wait," Castle said, Beckett nodding next to him. When he saw the two women were going up the stairs he called, "We would like to see that room." After they'd gone out of sight he turned to his wife and said, "Nice house."

"It is," Beckett replied. "Come on, we should see where they're going to stay while we're here." She pulled his arm and led him to the two bedrooms that were there to the right and she heard their daughters in the one to the west.

"Who picked this room?" Castle asked as there was a sliding door facing west towards the back.

"The twins said they sleep in the other bedroom when they're here," Alexis answered as she was hanging something in the closet.

"Well you have a nice view," Castle said, joining the girls at the window, looking out. He smiled and then said, "Are you guys going to stay here?"

"No, we go," Eliza replied. She then said, "Where?"

"We told you sweetie," Beckett said, hanging up something from Eliza's suitcase. "It's where the city was started."

"A long time ago," Julia added. "Before Mommy and Daddy were born."

"And your gram and grandfather," Castle added, going over to help his wife get their daughters' things hung up so they could go. "We're going to walk around the house first. Which we should do," he said rapidly as the girls turned to him, looking as if they were about to protest that idea. "That way you know where to go."

Beckett wasn't surprised when the two finally turned back to the window and once she got the last shirt of Eliza's hung she went to the toddler, picking her up to her gasp of surprise. Going to the door she caught sight of the twins running and after she looked through the doorway to their room briefly she went out to the living room.

"You can come up," Mary said, coming down the stairs before pausing on the second to last one.

"Not bad isn't it?" Skye asked as she put her suitcase against the wall while everyone was coming up.

Going to the window and seeing the view of the bay there Beckett nodded and then said, "Though we're not going to be here at the house much it sounds like."

"Come for breakfast," Mary said with a slight smile. "We'll eat out back with that view."

"Speaking of which let's go down and check out the rest of the house," Skye told them. "I know," she told Castle as he opened his mouth to speak. "That's my Californian side coming through." She led the way downstairs and to steps that led down to what she told the others was the family room. "And this is the office, mainly the billiards room," she said as she opened the door and revealed the pool table.

"Can we play?" Julia asked interestedly.

"Maybe if we have time," Beckett said. "And the back?"

Smiling at that Skye then led them over to the door to the backyard which was just a cement path in front of the windows that had comprised the western wall of the family room and to the north an area with a table. She nodded to the door to their right and said, "That's your daughters' room."

"Oh yeah," Castle said as he quickly recognized it. "You're sure it's okay they stay there?"

"It is," Mary replied. "They prefer the other room as it's a bit smaller; and we're usually not in the house too often down here as mentioned before."

"You stay in that room don't you?" Beckett asked.

"We do and Dad likes to sleep on the couch down here in the family room, it folds out," Skye replied. "Okay so we should get going, a lot planned for today of course."

At that the four girls went to their parents eagerly and after going to the cars they made their way down to San Diego Bay and the hotel where Castle and Beckett checked in. They went with their daughters and the McDouglases to their room, Mary and Skye protesting them coming along.

"We're not trying to torture you or anything," Castle said when they stopped on their floor.

"We know but it's odd we're all going to what'll likely be a simple bedroom," Skye told him.

"We'll see what it looks like now," Beckett said as the bellman stopped at a door and then opened it for them.

"Ah, trust Dad to get a great room," Skye said with a smile as she saw it was a corner room with a large bed. "So I think you two'll do well in this one."

"You're right, we will," Beckett said, trying not to laugh as Castle rushed past her, picking up Eliza on the way and making her squeal in delight. She followed at a more sedate pace, pausing at the end of the bed when she remembered the bellman and turning back was startled to see that Skye was closing the door after the man. "Thanks," she said, frowning slightly.

"Not a problem," Mary said, having been watching them.

"She's right, it's not," Skye added. "Go on and take a look at your view."

Beckett didn't feel right about allowing the woman to tip the employee but she could tell the two wouldn't allow her to protest. So she instead headed to the couch on the bed's left which was against the northern window where everyone was looking out. "Oh wow," she said, getting their attention. She smiled at that and then said, "It is an amazing view."

"We'll have to remember the room number," Mary said then, standing next to her wife who'd gone to stand next to Beckett. "And ask your dad to reserve it again if he was serious."

"I'm in complete agreement," Skye said. "So you two will be good here?"

Castle took a moment to realize that the room had fallen silent and that the others were looking at him. When he did he glanced back at the women and asked, "She told you about what I've done at some hotels? Because that was a long-"

"No," Beckett said, rolling her eyes though she was fighting a smile at the same time. "We have a nice bed and an equally nice view so you don't need to worry about us."

"Where's Old Town from here?" Julia asked.

"It's far," Marie answered before her mothers could. "But the trolley we take to it is close."

"We've stayed here with them once," Skye said as Beckett was looking at her. "So now are we ready to leave?"

"Yeah I think so," Castle said, sounding dejected. He helped Eliza to the ground from his lap before he stood up and once he had, Beckett held him back. "Unpacking?" he asked, realizing he'd forgotten about that completely.

Beckett didn't reply before she leaned over and whispered into his ear once everyone else was out in the hall.

"Ah, fantastic," Castle said, affecting a delighted tone instead of the ecstatic one in response to what his wife had promised him that night.

"What?" Julia asked as her parents quickly went to their suitcases.

"I told him not to be mad that I did have to unpack some things," Beckett answered as they worked quickly. "And luckily he isn't."

"Since I need to do the same," Castle replied simply. When he and Becket hung up some shirts and she put some things into the dresser he followed her out into the hall with the others. "So did you go on the trolley when you were here?" he asked his daughter as they walked in a group to the elevator.

"We took cabs," Alexis replied. "Gram was more comfortable with them. But I did see it when we came."

"What does it look like?" Julia asked as Eliza was tugging her hand; knowing her little sister wanted her to ask that.

"You'll find out really soon," Alexis replied.

When they had reached the lobby Skye and Mary led the way out onto and after crossing Harbor Street and passing a barbeque restaurant they came to the station. The two women helped Castle and Beckett get tickets for their family before they purchased for themselves and their daughters. They didn't need to wait long for the next trolley to arrive, Eliza squealing when she was the first to see the bright red lead car.

Inside they sat grouped together, Julia and Eliza sitting with their parents though the latter sat on their father's lap, looking at the scenery passing them.

"Look at that building," Julia pointed out to her mother.

"We're going to stop Kate, I'd take a picture if you want," Skye was telling her friend rapidly.

Though she hadn't planned on it Beckett was at the door with Julia, taking pictures of the Spanish Colonial Revival train station before they had to get back to their seats as they were pulling up next to it, a stop on their way. "That's a train station?" she asked Skye to make sure.  
"Santa Fe Depot," Mary answered for her wife when they were on their way again. "It's an Amtrak station."

"So it's still in use," Castle stated. When the two women nodded he glanced back though he couldn't see the building and then turned back as Eliza was tugging on the front of his shirt. "What is it sweetheart?" he asked.

"There," the toddler replied, pointing to where they'd stopped.

"Little Italy," Castle said. He smiled when Eliza looked slightly perplexed at that and he explained, "It's like Chinatown at home."

"Oh," the toddler said before nodding. She looked out the window and then cried out saying, "Plane! The plane lands Daddy, Mommy look!"

"That's the airport," Skye said in amusement, having easily heard her. "The busiest single runway airport in the country."

"Not the world? Castle asked.

"That would be London Gatwick," Skye said.

"Have you flown here?" Beckett then inquired.

"I have but you have to understand that was in a small airplane. Which I don't mind," Skye said. "You have to land very close to the buildings downtown, I'd be worried unless I had someone experienced with me."

"Your dad?" Alexis asked.

Skye tapped her nose and then smiled saying, "For a time he flew the route from here to Heathrow and back again before he switched from there to LAX."

"Did he miss it?" Castle asked.

"Not really," Skye said. Shortly after they had reached the end of the line and she led the way with Marie holding her hand, going to the intersection at the street near the station. "That's the state park," she explained to Castle, Beckett and their daughters since she knew Alexis had been there already. "But it extends out into the area around it as well."

"But the historical part of it is in here?" Castle said.

"There's more outside as well," Mary said. "The Whaley House is outside."

"The Casa de Estudillo and the-" Castle hurriedly said, seeing that Julia looked interested in knowing that as well.

"We'll get to it," Skye interrupted him. "And also another area that Alexis didn't go to when she was last here."

"What is it?" Eliza asked as they were walking up the dirt path into the park.

"You'll see," Mary said, smiling as the toddler giggled.

"Are you going to lead the way?" Julia asked her big sister.

"I don't remember the way exactly," Alexis said, laughing slightly. "So I'm eager to find out where we'll go first."

"I think we'll head up here," Skye said, pointing to the whitewashed buildings to their right. "Since it's mainly stores and then go to the Casa de Estudillo before heading to the other side."

"Right now?" Alexis asked, looking at the two women who were looking at the rest of them.

"I asked if we could go to lunch first," Marie said.

"Me too, I'm hungry," Kathleen said.

"Yeah Eliza and Julia were saying the same on the way to the hotel," Castle told them. "So lunch it is. Where?" He wasn't surprised when Skye turned first to their left and led the group to a restaurant that had some outdoor seating. But when they didn't go inside he said, "There are a lot of restaurants here?"

"We would have taken you to the one that used to be over there," Mary said, pointing to the north east. "It's reputed to be haunted."

"She thinks it is," Skye said. "Me, not so much."

"Do you believe in spirits?" Julia asked the investigator.

Looking over at Beckett, Skye replied, "I shouldn't really say."

"I wouldn't think less of you," Beckett protested as she knew that her friend was serious. "You can believe what you'd like."

"Have you had an experience?" Castle asked, a little flabbergasted as he hadn't expected that of the woman. When Skye glanced at her wife he said, "Both of you?" his tone stunned.

"We'll talk after lunch," Mary said simply. They reached a plaza past the restaurant and she and Skye went with their daughters straight to a restaurant in the center of it. "We have nine of us here," she said before the hostess could ask.

"We get to eat outside?" Julia asked eagerly.

"We will," Skye said, smiling back at Eliza as the toddler was squealing in joy at hearing that. That was all she could tell them though as they reached their tables towards the edge of the seating area and they sat where they wanted to. Once they had their menus she then said, "We usually come here to eat and we always sit outside."

"Are there any tables inside?" Castle asked her.

"Of course it does rain here," Skye said before she smiled. "And there are shops here but besides the toy store over there not sure our daughters will all like them. Well, I'm not sure what you would think Alexis."

"I remember this plaza now," the young woman said. "And you're right; I don't mind not looking through them as they're mostly decorative things for homes, though there's a store over there with some kind of gardening items."

"Yeah pots, plants, that kind of thing," Mary said with a nod. "We can walk around and then just stop if anyone wants to."

"We'll do that through the rest of the park… out on the street too," Skye said as hurriedly as she could while the waiter returned then with their drinks.

After ordering Beckett asked the two women, "Will we have enough time for Balboa Park?"

"We might, it depends on how quickly we walk through this," Skye said, gesturing around them. "But that's not to say we run," she said in a mock-warning tone to her daughters.

Giggling Marie said, "Mummy said we can go to the Natural History Museum if you want to go too."

"I do!" Julia said eagerly.

"You don't know what's in it though," Kathleen replied.

"That doesn't matter, it should be fun still," Julia replied.

"Any other museums?" Castle asked.

"A lot though we might not have time for more than that one," Skye said. When she saw that he was just looking at her she shook her head saying, "Look it up online, I'm not reading out the list."

Since the woman was speaking wryly Castle got his phone from his pocket and bringing up a list of the museums the park had he whistled and rapidly counted them saying, "Sixteen of them."

"What are they?" Julia asked as her father handed his phone to Beckett.

"They have gardens," she then said. "We could go to one of those." She wasn't surprised when both Julia and Eliza asked her about them and she looked at the McDouglases for them to answer that one.

"There's the Japanese Garden," Kathleen started.

"And the building with all the orchids," Marie added.

"A lot of gardens," Skye said before the two could say anymore. "But those two are good ones. We'll figure out what to do after we finish here." She then asked Castle and Beckett if they were planning on taking their daughters to museums while they were going through Europe and they were still talking about that when their food arrived.

"It's good food," Marie said, watching as Julia bit her taco.

"Yeah, the shell isn't crunchy," the little girl said. She looked over at Eliza and saw that she was eating hungrily, Alexis sitting next to her having to slow her down. "We were very hungry," she told the twins.

"Us too but Mummy and Mommy don't like us to gobble," Kathleen said.

Eliza made a noise, trying to sound like a turkey and when the other three nodded she said, "My teacher says a turkey says that."

"Yeah they do," Marie answered, nodding her head. She then seemed to jump in her chair and said, "I forgot they have stables here but they don't have horses, just donkeys."

"Didn't we see those in the episode they had here Daddy?" Julia asked her father.

"They showed one in the beginning," Castle replied. "So it looks like they went all around the park."

"You let her watch _Ghost Adventures_?" Mary asked as they let their daughters talk among themselves again.

"She snuck in and watched it," Beckett said. "When she was younger she wasn't so much into spirits. But seeing the beginning movie they had she started to believe it a little more."

"Has she ever told you about experiencing anything?" Skye asked.

"No but what about you two?" Beckett said. When the women looked a little startled she smiled and told them jokingly, "I figured it out."

"So did I," Castle added. "We're good like that."

Breathing out as she knew they couldn't avoid the question anymore, Skye said, "Promise you won't become judgmental?"

"I promise but I can't say I could believe it," Beckett replied.

"Them," Skye said slowly.

"You've had more than one?" Castle asked, shocked to hear it.

"Two experiences, mine was just once," Mary said. "But oddly enough at the same place, not at the same time," she finished hurriedly as she could tell Castle was going to ask that.

"The first time was my first flight as a pilot," Skye said. "I was flying from LAX to San Francisco and I was a little nervous though I was trying not to let that show."

"Of course," Beckett said, already guessing what the woman had been through.

"I was alone in the cockpit about mid-flight as the co-pilot had to use the restroom and just before a flight attendant joined me the door was locked so there was no way someone got in until they did. There's nowhere to hide there and," Skye continued. "I started feeling a chill through the area and this was in May." She smiled slightly at her wife who took her hand, squeezing it tightly. She kept going though her voice was a little strained then saying, "And I could feel my father's presence around me and my nerves calmed and I smelled the scent he had, sandalwood and cloves that I always thought was distinctive to him. It wasn't my co-pilot; he had cologne on; so that calmed me down enough to fly there and back to LAX without any problems."

"Did you tell your dad about that?" Castle asked her, sounding amazed.

Nodding Skye told him, "He said it was my father and that he was letting me know he was proud I was following in his footsteps." She started to speak and then said finally, "I-"

"Lied a little bit," Beckett finished before she could. "I'm not judging you," she was quick to say as the investigator looked at her with wide eyes. "You've felt his presence a number of times. I guessed."

"Yeah," Skye replied. "But not all the time, just here and there. And the other time…"

"That's the Whaley House," Mary replied. "We were there together but at one point I was in the theater and I could smell lavender, which was odd as I was alone since Skye had left and she smells like roses and jasmine, so I knew it was Mrs. Whaley. I took pictures all around the room but no luck getting anything."

"And you had the same experience?" Castle asked.

"I did but for me it was when I was looking into the master bedroom," Skye replied.

"Did you know that the scent was one people had said they could smell in the house," Beckett stated.

Smiling at each other, Skye and Mary nodded before the latter said, "She lied a bit again."

"That was a cool thing to see," Marie whispered.

Glancing over at the kids and seeing they and Alexis were all watching them, Skye said quickly, "I felt a heavy chill and saw a chain swinging in the courthouse. A heavy chain with no one around. And not like someone was walking outside and shaking it, it was discernible right away."

"That might have been Yankee Jim," Mary said, finishing her food then and leaning back. "I was upstairs with Kathleen, Marie was with her."

"I saw it," the little girl replied hurriedly when the others all turned to her. "Tell them what you did first Mummy."

"I'll show them," Skye replied. "So there you have it. But don't go into the house thinking you'll experience anything Mr. Castle," she said to him teasingly, pointing at him.

"I heard if you do that you might not," Castle replied, smiling back at her. "But I'm eager to head out, are the rest of you."

"The shops first!" Julia said.

"Yeah, toys and…" Eliza started to say before she trailed off and then looked at Skye and Mary in confusion as she had no idea what else there was to see.

"We'll show you," Mary said laughingly as the others were doing the same and they soon left the table once they'd paid. She and her wife led the way around the plaza but they didn't stop at the stores until they reached the toy store, the last one before they went out into the rest of the park.

Going along the buildings while the others were ahead of them Skye watched Beckett next to her taking pictures for a moment before she said, "You really don't think less of me after that?"

"No," she replied, looking from her camera to her friend. "Because I know what Rick believes and while I can't agree I don't think it makes him less of a person."

"But you just can't believe in what I've experienced," Skye said simply.

Studying the woman closely Beckett said, "I've known some people who have had that kind of… experience with parents or relatives that have passed away. Not me though."

With the tone of her voice, Skye nodded and said, "What would you do if you had?"

"I don't need my mother… announcing her presence," Beckett said firmly. "I'm her daughter and my girls are a part of her as well. She's with us in that way."

"That's what my father thought with regard to my mother," Skye responded. "And I've kept that in mind myself since I've never known her. But with the flight I suppose I was so concerned it might have brought him to me… or what you might think is that I conjured him up with my mind, who knows."

"And with the Whaley House maybe you're telekinetic," Castle said, walking back to them after they'd reached an old building that said Wells Fargo on the front. "With the chain moving. But I came back to tell you, Mary thinks we should take the kids in here-"

"Which she's already doing," Beckett commented, looking past him to where the four girls were ahead of Mary and Alexis going into the building.

"And she said something about a candy store? In Spanish so your daughters didn't hear," Castle finished.

Pointing to the next building over Skye said, "It's there and we usually allow them to get something to save to take home. Up to you two if you want to join us."

"We can, we just have to keep an eye on our girls," Beckett said before they turned to go after their families.

"Alexis too," Castle said.

"Yeah," Beckett said wryly. "You tell her that."

"You think I'd go crazy Dad?" the young woman said, having been walking up to them. "I'd be more concerned with Julia."

"Hey!" the little girl said in mock annoyance as she turned to them from the stagecoach she was taking pictures of. "Why though?"

"There's a candy store next door," Castle said. When the two girls looked suddenly eager he told them quickly, "We'll get a little candy and then save it like Marie and Kathleen will do."

"We do that," Marie said when Julia and Eliza looked at her and her sister. "But we get to have one little thing."

"Like a sample," Kathleen said before she giggled.

"Okay but after this building," Castle said to remind them there was a little museum in the building; which was why there was a Wells Fargo stagecoach in front of them.

From there the group headed to the candy store, the four youngest leading the way and trying to keep Eliza from running ahead on the dirt. When they went in Castle and Beckett were startled to find the store was small and they quickly got their daughters to help them get some candy while Skye and Mary were helping their twins.

"Can't help get a few things myself," Skye said as she stood behind Castle who was paying for four bags of candy since she was carrying the same number of bags herself. "Who didn't get anything?"

"Kate's sharing with Eliza," Castle replied before he stepped out of her way and went outside to wait for her. "That was nice; it felt like an old west candy store. Though I don't know if they had those…"

"Just in the general store?" Beckett said. When her husband nodded while looking in his bag she saw that Julia and Alexis were doing the same as Eliza watched them. "Do they really only pick one thing?" she asked Skye and Mary as they came out, all holding their bags.

"They do because we confiscate them as soon as they get the candy out," Mary said. "Go ahead and pick something," she urged the twins.

Once everyone had a candy and the bags were hidden away Skye led them to the path in between the candy store and museum saying, "This is the first schoolhouse that was in this county, it's from 1865."

"How long ago was that?" Julia asked interestedly.

"A hundred and fifty three years," Castle told her.

"That's an old school," Julia said, Eliza nodding in agreement next to her.

"Wait 'till you see inside, then you can see it's old," Kathleen said, pointing out the long and thin red building ahead of them.

Inside the classroom, Eliza slipped her hand from her father's, running down one of the two aisles between the old fashioned desks to the front where she climbed onto the seat of the middle one. "Time for school," she said seriously when her mother knelt next to her. She giggled shyly as Beckett took a picture of her and then said, "A big desk Mommy."

"For you it is," Castle said, coming up with Julia. He watched her go onto the desk across the one her sister was in and asked, "What do you think?" as she was looking around.

"I feel like Laura," Julia replied. "From the _Little House_ books."

"Understandable," Castle said with a nod. "Think I should try and sit down?"

"I think you'd get stuck Dad," Alexis said, sitting behind her sister though she didn't put her feet underneath the desk.

"I think so too," Beckett said. She smiled when her husband looked at her and she then pulled on his arm, bringing him over to her.

"Everyone smile," Castle said as he then saw she was preparing a shot of their daughters at the three desks. "Wait," he said after she'd finished, remembering something and getting his phone out of his pocket. He took a photo and sent it to his mother and father in law before asking, "Should I send it to everyone?"

"Except us," Skye said from where she and her wife were watching their daughters in some of the desks in the back.

"Right," Castle said before he quickly sent it to their friends.

At the back where there were some books on a table Mary asked Julia and Eliza when they were close, "Did you enjoy that?"

"Yeah," the toddler said, nodding her head firmly.

"I wish our school desks were like that, they'd be fun," Julia added.

"Me too," Marie said, Kathleen and Eliza nodding in agreement.

"You two want a book?" Castle asked as they then turned their attention to what was on the table.

"This one," Beckett suggested, holing up one that was a children's book about school in the old west.

"What would you like Julia?" Castle asked.

"Can I get this one?" the little girl asked, pointing to a coloring book of the missions in California.

"They had to make a model of one of those," Skye said after she purchased a book for her daughters.

"Which ones?" Beckett asked.

"One of Santa Barbara," Marie said. "We went to that one."

"And I made one of Mission San Diego," Kathleen said. "It's close here and we went to it too."

"Up there on the hill?" Castle asked.

"That's the site of the old fort," Skye answered. "Though the mission had originally been up there too before they moved it inland."

"Are we ready?" Beckett asked as Eliza was looking at her book.

"Sweetheart," Castle said gently taking it back from her. "Eliza," he said gently when she started to protest but with a slightly stern undertone.

"I wanna read," Eliza said, frowning.

"Later, we have a lot more to see remember?" Castle said.

"And we're gonna see the donkeys too right?" Julia asked, hoping that would distract her sister as they left the schoolhouse.

"We will," Beckett assured them. When they were back to the candy store they headed east and passed a candle store and one with pots and different outdoor décor before they came to a building that looked like a general store. "More candy?" she asked Skye as she saw a barrel just outside the entrance with soda and water on the top.

"No, better than that," the woman replied.

"Oh, books," Alexis said before she laughed with the others and they headed inside after the twins who pulled Eliza and Julia with them.

"She's right," Mary finally said. "But there's more than that. Coloring books, reading books, haunting books," she ended on, looking at Castle.

"Real haunting or fiction?" he asked as soon as she said that.

"Real, I'll show you," Skye said, "Sorry," she told Beckett.

"I'll steer the girls to the coloring books," she replied, glancing at her husband as she passed him.

"So she's not miffed at this?" Skye asked as they then went over to a shelf with books on ghost stories at different locations in the country.

"I love your vocabulary," Castle said in slight amusement. "And she might be, hard to read her sometimes when she doesn't want you to know what she's thinking."

"Okay, well these books are good but if you're a first timer here in San Diego I'd recommend this one," Skye told him, pulling out a book that was blue. "The author sometimes ran ghost tours but he looks at it with a slightly skeptical eye still which is good."

Nodding Castle looked over the titles and then said, "I think this'll be good for now. And who knows we might get ideas for places to go." He'd been paging through the book and said that after seeing there were black and white pictures of different locations. That tucked under his arm he went around a set of shelves and saw that Beckett was with their daughters, looking through what were coloring books and regular books. "Did you tell them they could pick one out?" he asked his wife.

"I did and apparently there are a lot of them," Beckett replied. She then reached for the book under his arm and said, "Really?"

"Let him get a book Mommy," Julia said as she glanced over at them and saw the title of the book, knowing immediately what it was about.

"I will," Beckett replied, looking at Eliza to see how she was reacting. When she saw that the toddler was looking at a coloring book of horses she smiled and said, "I think I know which one she wants."

"This Mommy," Eliza said, not having been paying attention and handing over the book to her.

"You don't want one too?" Castle asked Julia as the little girl turned to go to the shelves around the corner from them.

"I do but I want to keep looking," Julia said. "Hi Alexis are you going to get one too?"

"I don't think so," the young woman answered. "I just like looking at what they're of."

Seeing the ones in front of them, Julia read the titles but didn't find any that appealed to her. So she followed her sister; the rest of their family trailing behind them; and when she saw the ones on the shelves there she said, "I found them!"

"Really?" Beckett asked, seeing that half were coloring books of fashions of the past and also flowers.

"I have my allowance still," Julia said. "So I'll buy this one myself," she told her parents as she picked up a book of Civil War era fashions and one about the language of flowers.

"Which one?" Castle asked her, not surprised she held onto the one about flowers.

"I can't wait to color these," Julia said as they made their way over to the register and looked at everything else there was for sale.

"I hope you'll have enough colored pencils to last," Beckett said jokingly as Castle took everything to pay.

"I will," Julia said, taking Eliza's hands to keep her from grabbing a bag of taffy near where they were waiting.

"Come here sweetie," Beckett said, taking the toddler. "Why don't we go ahead to the next store and wait for your daddy?"

"I'll see you over there," Castle called to them since he wasn't too far away to hear them. He then handed Alexis the coloring books Julia had chosen so she could look at them before he turned his attention back to he others.

Since Skye and Mary were still in the store looking around Beckett knew her husband would let them know where they'd gone to so she led her daughters outside. The next store was in a small building and seeing the name _Gum Saan_ she said, "I think this place will have things from Asia."

"It does, look at the incense," Julia said, pointing to the small boxes of it on a basket. "Are you going to get some?"

"I have to wait for your daddy," Beckett said simply, holding on to Eliza as they walked inside the store.

Julia looked around at everything she could see but at the same time kept an eye out for her father. When she saw Alexis walk in, Castle following her, she rushed over to him and said, "Look at all the incense they have Daddy."

Handing Eliza to Alexis; as the toddler had started to wriggle in her arms after seeing her older sister; Beckett went to Castle and Julia and told him, "She asked if I would get some."

"And Mommy said she would wait for you," Julia told him. "I'll go with Alexis and you can look together."

"She's certainly determined to control things sometimes," Skye said.

"That's from her mom," Castle said. He glanced at Beckett out of the corner of his eye and when he saw the look she was giving him said in protest, "Well it is."

"We'll leave you two alone," Mary said, though there was a hint of laughter in her tone as they passed them.

"Do we really need any?" Castle asked his wife, studying her to make sure she wasn't annoyed with him.

"There are some scents I'm seeing that interest me," Beckett told him. She looked down at the boxes and said, "We should really remember to use it more." She wasn't surprised when Castle nodded in agreement to that since they tended to use the incense before, during and after they were intimate. Though a lot of the time they'd end up forgetting to use it until after she could recall the times when her sense of smell being affected helped make things far more erotic. At the laugh of one of the McDouglas twins she shook herself rapidly of her thoughts and said, "Pick out what you like and I'll get my own."

Castle glanced at her; he knew what she was thinking as the same thoughts were running through his own mind; but didn't say anything and instead turned his attention to the incense. After he'd gotten a couple of boxes he let his wife take them, going over to where Julia was outside with Alexis and Eliza. "You guys didn't see anything?" he asked them.

"Not really but it's pretty stuff," Julia said first.

"Eliza wanted to go to you Dad but I told her to wait," Alexis said as she then handed him the toddler.

"How're you doing sweetheart?" Castle asked her as she leaned her head on his shoulder. Rubbing her back he said, "If you-"

"She's asleep already Daddy," Julia whispered.

Glancing down Castle could see that the little girl was right and he waited for Beckett to come out, pointing to their youngest so she would see.

"Well…" Beckett said, thinking for a moment. "Can you two go with Skye and Mary around the rest of the stores here?" she asked Julia and Alexis, motioning to the shops behind them and in front of them.

"You should go to that one though Daddy," Julia said, pointing to a small, white building across from them.

"We'll do that later," Beckett said. "Maybe after the Casa de Estudillo."

"I was wondering if this would happen," Skye said, coming over and seeing Eliza. "How long to do you need?"

After agreeing on taking a half hour Castle and Beckett went to a shady group of benches where they sat with their daughter who was still asleep on his lap. At first they were quiet, watching as Alexis took Julia across to the large white building across from them, waving to her as they went. But eventually Beckett spoke, reaching down and running her fingers over Eliza's temple after she pressed a kiss to it.

"You don't mind?" she asked him.

"I did the same thing for Alexis," Castle replied easily. "Granted that was usually at home but still it isn't a problem."

Beckett nodded and leaning against him a little said, "I'm wondering how she'll be tomorrow."

"She'll likely do the same thing," Castle replied, wrapping his free arm around his wife's waist. "But don't worry, I won't mind tomorrow either."

"Even though we're going to be at a world famous zoo?" Beckett asked in amusement.

"I've always wanted to go there," Castle said. "Watching Carson and that woman that was from there. But never had the chance so I'm a little jealous of Alexis that she did." He was quiet for a moment and said, "Have I ever told you I love that you are as into animals as I am."

"No but it's nice to hear," Beckett said with a smile as she stroked the back of Eliza's head gently.

"What about reptiles?" Castle then said.

"What, you think I'm scared of them?" Beckett replied.

"They have a reptile house there, if you remember Alexis' description of the place," Castle said.

"It won't be an issue," Beckett said, trying not to laugh. "You want me to cling to your arm through the place, making sure you protect me from the snakes behind the glass?"

"Well if Harry Potter was around to make said glass disappear… then yes," Castle said. He then laughed as she did before she made him stop and then looked down at their daughter. "She's had an exciting few days."

"I know it's going to be fun to see her in Europe," Beckett answered. She looked up then to see that Julia and Alexis were jogging over to them and asked, "Something you want to get?"

"No she got some postcards already," Alexis said.

"And this for Mari," Julia replied, showing the shirt she'd picked out for her friend. "She likes her I love San Francisco one."

"I guess you're starting up a collection of those," Castle said, gesturing with his head over to the bag his daughter held.

"I got one for Julia, it's a little big but I wanted her to be able to wear it for a while," Alexis said. She then glanced down and said with a smile, "Morning Lizzy."

"Hey she's up," Castle said as the toddler sat up, rubbing her eyes. "How was your nap Eliza?"

"Good," the toddler replied with a yawn. "Do I go now?"

"Do you guys want to head to the store here?" Skye asked as they were approaching them.

"That would be nice," Castle said before he handed Eliza to Alexis at her insistence. When the others were ahead of them he turned to Beckett and before she could say a word he was kissing her as hard as he could, feeling her reaching up to grab the front of his shirt so he knew that she'd been expecting that. He kept things up as long as he could until needing to breathe, and he carefully broke off their kiss. "Sorry, I would have done that when we were sitting but things didn't work out," he said as he took her hand.

"That's alright," Beckett said in slight amusement as they followed the others to the mineralogy store.

Julia walked through the room, looking at the merchandise before she saw a smaller room with gemstones inside locked display cases. She was studying a box with some pearls in it before she heard someone coming up behind her and looking up at her dad said, "I don't think you need to get Mommy something from here."

"And what made you think I was going to?" Castle asked, smiling at her as he put his hand on her shoulder.

Shrugging Julia said, "You gave her jewelry before."

"True but your mom doesn't like having too much of that," Castle replied. "Books however…"

Julia giggled at that before he took her hand and she asked, "Where are we going?"

"I bought a pan for you and your sisters to try to get some rocks, like miners used to do for gold," Castle told her.

"Really?" Julia asked excitedly. When he nodded in response she hurried with him outside where there was a tub of water and the rest of their family was there.

"Skye and Mary took their daughters to get something to drink," Alexis told them. "So we'll meet them at the stables."

At that moment two employees came over with three pans, and after showing the girls how to take some of the sand on the bottom of the tub and swirl it and the water until they could star revealing the stones. With Castle and Beckett helping their daughters, they soon each had a handful of polished stones and even some pyrite. With their finds in cloth bags, they headed to the stables to meet the McDouglases and continue their exploration of the park.

* * *

"Finally," Castle said, looking up at the Cosmopolitan. He led the way up the steps to the open door next to the restaurant and when he was able to see inside he said, "This is where they had that shots challenge."

"There's the picture that smiled," Julia said, point over to it in the other room.

"And that room with the chessboard," Alexis said to them.

"Kate, could you-" Castle said, turning to his wife before he cut himself off when he saw that she was taking pictures.

"I'm doing this because it's an historical building," Beckett told him quickly. She then smiled over at him before he went up to the bar and she followed him to it while they watched their daughters looking around the room.

"I was shocked when I saw this room on the episode," Mary commented as they were standing at the doorway.

"You were here before it?" Castle asked. At Skye and Mary's nods he then said, "Did you do any shots here?"

"No," Skye said with a laugh. "We just looked through it." She waited until they were ready to go a short time later, leading them over to the Casa de Estudillo which was just across the dirt street. "And this we were ecstatic to see," she told Castle, Beckett and their daughters. "Since we've been here many times."

"I can imagine," Castle replied.

"We'll meet you over there at the doorway in the back," Skye then told them once they'd stepped through the front doorway. "And then we'll go to the Whaley House."

Watching them leave, Alexis said, "I guess they've been here a lot."

"I was going to say the same thing," Castle said as he nodded his head. He then followed his wife and daughters to the first room to their left when Beckett put her camera in his face. "Really?" he asked.

"Just in case you might capture something," she said before smiling at him.

"You never know," Castle told her before he leaned over and kissed her cheek. He and Julia then proceeded to take pictures inside every room, looking at the screens of their cameras to check and see if there was anything in them that was unexplained. But by the time they'd gone through the courtyard of the u shaped home and into the backyard he and the little girl had nothing. But as they were leaving with the McDouglases he told her, "We might get something at the Whaley House."

Outside of the national park section of Old Town, on the corner of the next street, was the brick structure but before they could get their tickets Skye took Beckett's wrist and said, "We'll be right back."

"Just her?" Mary asked in surprise.

"Just us," Skye replied.

"Should… I be worried," Castle stated slowly.

Giggling with her twin at his tone Kathleen shook her head and said, "They're going to put a flower on Yankee Jim's grave."

"He's buried near here?" Castle asked in surprise, glancing over at Eliza who was with Marie looking at the porch that ran the length of the front of the house.

"Just down the street," Mary said. "Since you saw the episode, you'll have heard what happens to some cops that go in there."

"But she's not one anymore," Julia pointed out.

"No but I think Skye just wants to take precautions," Mary replied. "After what happened… you know, in the past." When Castle nodded she then quickly said, "There is a gift shop here," pointing to the little building to the right of the main house. "So why don't we take a look around and I'll get our tickets at the same time."

"This is a little ridiculous Skye," Beckett was saying, jogging to keep up with the woman in front of her. "I'm going to be perfectly safe… this is it?" she said, trailing off when she saw the small cemetery next door to a house.

"Yep and these markers?" Skye then said as she pointed to the brass circles in the ground. "Grave sites."

"Should have let Rick come with us," Beckett said.

"I'm right here," Castle said, coming over with Alexis and Julia. "Eliza's with the others," he told her quickly. "I couldn't pass up the opportunity."

"We can come back Friday," Skye told them. "But for now…" she said as she handed the carnation she'd bought at a florist nearby to Beckett.

They were already inside the cemetery so she set the flower down at the marker in front of them and said, "Was it true about some jurors being part of the boat company he stole?"

"That's what I heard," Skye said. "But really, for stealing a boat?"

"Yeah, hanging is a steep sentencing," Castle said as they were leaving. "But hopefully he won't bother us as we're going through."

Beckett fought the urge to roll her eyes the best she could and somehow managed to do so as they went to the door of the Whaley House to meet with the others. Again she handed her camera to Castle, picking up Eliza to carry her through the home. "You mind if I take her around?" she asked them.

"You don't want to hear us talk about spirits?" Skye asked with a smile.

"Sorry," Beckett replied. "But that way you guys can investigate… as much as you can in the daylight."

"We'll meet you here in the hall," Castle told her before he leaned over and kissed their youngest on the cheek. "Watch out for her."

"Kay," Eliza said with a giggle as her father was talking to her.

"We'll be fine Rick," Beckett said, shaking her head before he kissed her.

Watching as her father watched Beckett go down the hall and to the flight of stairs Skye had told them about Alexis eventually had to put her hand on his arm and said, "We're going into the courthouse first Dad."

Shaking himself Castle nodded and followed his daughter through a room made up as a general store and then the courtroom itself. As soon as he was inside he began to take pictures and started to go with the others to sit on the bench at the front to watch the chain that Skye had been talking about at lunch.

Upstairs Beckett stood at the clear barrier blocking the master bedroom and she said, "It's pretty isn't it."

"The bed is small Mommy," Eliza replied.

"That's true," Beckett agreed. She then walked to the other side of the floor and told her, "I think your daddy and I would be very uncomfortable in that."

"Me too," Eliza said. They came to another bedroom and she squealed saying, "Look Mommy, toys!"

"I see," Beckett said, as there were Victorian era toys inside that bedroom. She kissed Eliza's temple as the toddler looked around the room and she then led her to the next to peer inside. When they were eventually at the end of the hall she stood at the window that looked out onto the backyard.

"Are they roses?" Eliza asked.

"It looks like it," Beckett said. "Now do you want to see the theater?" When the toddler nodded her head rapidly she smiled and went into the room that had chairs and a small stage with curtains, a backdrop and organ. She set her daughter down and said, "You can run around but stay in this room and don't go on the stage okay?"

Eliza nodded rapidly before she then ran over to the window nearest to them, looking outside before her mother came up behind her. "It is pretty," she said firmly.

"It is," Beckett said as she put her hand on the back of the toddler's head. "Imagine what it looked like when there were no buildings."

"No?" Eliza asked with wide eyes.

"You probably would have been able to see to the ocean," Beckett said pointing out the window. "And there would have been streets that were dirt and horses and wagons."

Giggling at that, Eliza said, "I wish I can see."

"Me too," Beckett said before Eliza then turned and left the window. She remained where she was, watching the toddler look at the fireplace before she went around the chairs and then walked up to her again as some people were coming into the room. She went to a chair next to the window and picked up her daughter, setting her on her lap.

Coming up the stairs Castle saw his wife and Eliza and he spoke to Alexis quickly before heading over to them, smiling as the toddler cried out, "Daddy!" seeing him. Sitting next to them he then leaned over, kissing Beckett on the cheek before he took their youngest from her and kissed her forehead tenderly as she leaned against him and hummed in joy.

* * *

Walking out of the parking lot they had been at Julia took pictures of the trees across from them and then said, "Look at the buildings!"

"That's an organ," Marie said. "They play that sometimes."

"And those buildings over there are some of the museums," Alexis said as they walked away from the outdoor organ which was covered. "That one straight ahead is the museum of art."

"You went to that one didn't you?" Beckett asked.

"I did, it was amazing and the collection is nice. And then this building here," she said, pointing to a smaller one that was apart from the museum. "Is a smaller art museum, nice collection but they don't let you take pictures of it."

"Too bad," Castle said absently as they'd turned down a street that was blocked off to cars. "Want to go with your sisters?" he asked Eliza who was on his shoulders. At her nod he set her down and went to Beckett, resisting the urge to take her hand as she was taking pictures. "So nothing at the Whaley House," he commented, looking around at the architecture of the buildings they were passing.

"You don't sound too disappointed," Beckett said, looking at him.

"I realized I didn't need to get a picture of a spirit," Castle said.

Beckett rolled her eyes and said, "You're just saying that since you didn't get anything."

Castle didn't reply to that and instead he went up steps with Beckett to a fountain before he said, "Okay, so you might be right… Okay you're right."

Beckett merely smiled at that and then squeezed his hand before they went up the stairs to the museum. As soon as they walked inside she wasn't surprised when Julia and Eliza cried out at the figurines of dinosaurs opposite the desk where Castle and Skye were buying their admission. "Hold on Eliza," she said as the toddler tried to get out of Alexis' grasp to run over to the statue.

"We're ready," Castle said. "We're sticking together?"

"I think we can," Beckett said, looking to Skye and Mary.

"Why not?" Skye asked with a shrug. "Especially since our daughters have left, thank you Alexis!" she called to the young woman who'd rushed after her sisters and the twins.

"They wouldn't really misbehave would they?" Castle asked Skye and Mary.

"Oh no," the latter said. "They're well behaved but they're kids after all, we've had tantrums and crises and all of that."

"We do try to deal with those the best we can and I think we've done a pretty good job," Skye then said, nodding to where their kids had stopped at the first dinosaur, looking up at it.

"You two are the same?" Mary asked.

"We try," Castle said.

"Like most parents," Beckett said absently as Eliza was hurrying over to her, asking for her camera.

Once they had started going through the exhibit Castle stuck with his wife as Eliza was staying with her too. He wasn't sure why exactly as the toddler only wanted to take pictures a few times before she put her attention in the displays they passed. Going to the next exhibit, one on King Tutankhamen, he held Eliza's hand as Beckett was taking pictures and he was watching her closely when someone slipped their hand into his free one and he looked down to see that it was Julia. "What's wrong?" he asked as he noticed her expression.

"They have gemstones," the little girl said quickly.

"You have the map?" Castle asked since he'd given it to Alexis earlier. Taking it he saw that she was right and he said to Beckett, "There's-"

"I heard," she interrupted, smiling at him. She then said, "Do you guys want to head downstairs?"

"We're already off," Skye called before she looked back to see Castle, Beckett and their daughters following them.

Down at that exhibit Julia and Eliza were both enthralled by the stones and pieces made from precious stones as well. With the two taking their time to look at everything it was a while before they went to the next exhibit on the same floor, walking through that a little faster before going back upstairs.

Since the next exhibits were quicker to go through as were the other two, Castle said as they went back to the floor where they'd come into the museum, "That's it?"

"That's it," Skye replied. "Sorry if it's not as much as your museums at home have."

"I liked it," Julia said.

"And me too!" Eliza said firmly.

"So that decides it," Mary said. "But you know there is Friday."

"I was going to suggest that," Alexis said. "Since there's a lot more to see here."

"So hopefully you two will think of where to go then," Castle said to the twins playfully, though he was also letting Skye and Mary know they were fine with that idea.

"We have some ideas," Skye said. "But there is one more place we're going to take you before heading to Seaport Village."

Beckett looked over at a building set back from the street that they'd passed already and she said, "Is this the botanical building you mentioned?"

"It is but Julia, Eliza?" Skye answered. When the two looked at her she pointed to the lagoon ahead of them and said, "There are koi in there."

Julia gasped in eagerness before she went to the side and took pictures of the lily pads in the pond that was next to them. She was about to ask her parents if they could go faster when Beckett shook her head no.

"The fish aren't going anywhere Julia," Castle said when the little girl had exhaled in frustration, slumping over. "And neither are the flowers."

"I can't wait for those," Julia told her little sister seriously.

"Yeah I wanna see pretty colors," Eliza responded, nodding her head rapidly.

After they'd stayed at the side of the lily pond for a while Castle went to Alexis and Skye; Mary with the girls in front of them; and after they'd urged him to he took his wife's hand and pulled her inside the building. He saw that on the walls were numerous kinds of orchids and he admired them quickly before turning to Beckett and cupping her face with his hand.

Though she had wanted to protest them leaving the others Beckett couldn't find it in her to voice that as his lips took her own. She responded immediately, wrapping her arms around him and feeling him jump a little when her camera hit his back. She wasn't surprised when he quickly recovered and she fought against his tongue as hard as she could before they were jerking apart to gasp for air. "You had to do that," she told him teasingly as he pressed his forehead to hers.

"I did, I wonder why Skye and Mary don't do that more often," Castle commented.

"We haven't had as many chances," Mary suddenly said behind them. "No we do, it's just we're a little more focused on where we're going."

"Don't get us wrong," Castle said hurriedly to that as Beckett went to help Julia take pictures of the orchids. "We love where we've been going. But you know…"

"You're in love, of course," Skye said. "It's understandable. Now let your wife take some pictures of the flowers."

"Same as yours is?" Castle asked her. When she held up her camera to a flower just past the entry he laughed slightly and then went to Alexis as she was taking a picture of some lilies further past the investigator. He put his hand on her shoulder as he admired the set up of her shot and told her so before they went around to look at some ferns together.

* * *

Looking over the wall at the rocks below them, Eliza said to her big sister, "Can I go in?"

"I don't think so," Alexis told her with a smile. "You know that your mom would not be happy if you slipped down there."

"I wanna swim," Eliza said softly.

"We will, probably back at home, but we'll go," Castle told her as he, Beckett and Julia joined them at the wall at Seaport Village outside his and Beckett's hotel. "So we have an hour until dinner to shop. What'll it be first?"

"The carousel Daddy," Julia said simply.

"Of course," Castle said, looking at Beckett.

"That should have been the first thing you thought of," Beckett told him teasingly as they started to walk over to it; Alexis leading them with a map.

"You'd think I would," Castle said. When Eliza cried out, "Puppy!" he looked over where she was pointing, to see that there were dog figurines in the window of a store. "So we're heading over there but still shopping," he said as the toddler pulled her sister towards the door to go inside.

Beckett nodded to that as she went after the girls, seeing the items inside and saying, "Look but don't touch you two." She smiled when they nodded and then went with Alexis around to see if they had figurines and items of Irish Wolfhounds. She remained near the door before she felt her husband standing next to her and looking at him said, "You don't want to look?"

"There's a place across the way I'll look through with them," Castle told her.

"A toy store?" Beckett asked with a sigh.

"There's one here?" Julia asked, having heard that.

"Over here," Castle told them before taking her hand. He wasn't surprised when Eliza ran over to take his other and he led them across the way before he looked back, seeing that Beckett was staying behind them.

"She'll wait for us here Dad," Alexis said, catching up to them.

"And you?" Castle asked as he had a feeling he knew what his wife had told his daughter.

"Keep an eye on you," Alexis replied with a slight smirk on her face.

"Fair enough," Castle replied as the girls giggled on either side of him. He led them into the store, and though she wasn't there, he could still imagine what Beckett would say to the girls asking him for a toy each and he had to tell them they were going to the zoo the next day and there would likely be better toys there. He only hoped the two weren't taking that as he and Beckett would buy them something but when they reached her at the fountain he was relieved when they asked if they could get a toy before they started on their way to the carousel again.

"I don't know, it depends on what we see there," Beckett replied honestly as she was holding her daughters by the hand then. "And it is tomorrow."

"Mommy," Eliza said. When her mother turned to her she said, "How long?"

"Still some time Lizzy," Alexis answered for her stepmother. "It's not even sunset yet."

"I have to sleep?" Eliza asked. "First?" When her parents and sister nodded she sighed before Julia was bringing her attention to the carousel. She was surprised when Alexis offered to take her and the little girl on it and as they were getting onto it she asked, "Why?"

"I wanted to spend some time with my little sisters," Alexis said with a smile, squeezing their hands before she helped them get onto horses and then stood in between them.

Taking pictures of the three Beckett soon set her camera down and put her hand on her husband's saying, "You still want to go to that bookstore?"

"I'm surprised you didn't want to go to it first yourself," Castle replied as they kept an eye on their daughters. "You could have insisted."

"Not when there are horses involved," Beckett said teasingly. She smiled when he glanced back at her and let him take her hand, pulling her so she was standing against the railing in his arm that went around her side. "I wanted them to have this since they heard about it first. Next they'll want to see the books."

"Since they're our daughters of course they will," Castle said. "Love," he began.

"I've been thinking about the plot of a book," he and Beckett said at the same time.

Smiling when her husband looked at her in slight surprise Beckett told him, "Me too but do you have anything yet?"

"A little bit more time," Castle said as the carousel was slowing down and he let her go. "And we'll have something." With that they went to the exit to get the girls and with Alexis made their way to the bookstore where they reunited unexpectedly with the McDouglases as soon as they had stepped inside.

"Fancy meeting you here," Skye said when she saw them. "We're about to go upstairs, the kids books are there."

"I'll take them," Alexis offered then.

Watching them go upstairs Beckett turned to her husband and said, "I think we're set on books now."

"True but let's look and see," Castle said, reaching over to her and taking her hand.

Beckett smiled since she was used to him seeing if any new bookstores they went to had his books and theirs. She let him lead her to the mystery section and wasn't surprised when their books were there along with _Hamptons Heat_. She had to wonder at her husband's reaction and glancing at him she was a little surprised when he was nodding. "You expected that?"

"Jay's talking about republishing my earlier books," Castle reminded her. "If we go ahead and do that then they'll be back."

"If?" Beckett asked. "And by we you mean…"

"You'd be okay with that?" Castle asked her.

"Why wouldn't I," Beckett said firmly. When he nodded she leaned over and kissed him on the cheek before pulling him back to the stairs where they headed up to join their family.

From the bookstore the group stuck together and went around a few more stores before the girls were all telling their parents they were hungry. Skye and Mary led them back to the boardwalk, which distracted them long enough as they were looking out at the water.

"What's that bridge?" Julia asked, pointing to the tall blue one to the south.

"The Coronado Bridge," Mary answered as they turned to look at it. "And that would be Coronado."

"Where the Del is," Alexis replied.

"Mommy," Eliza said then, whimpering a little as she tugged her hand.

"Not to worry," Skye said quickly as she was standing next to Beckett. "Our restaurant is right down here." She then got the others walking again and took them to where the building was, right on the water. She looked at Eliza and Julia and smiled as she saw they seemed excited before saying, "It's almost like that one restaurant you took us to back in the Hamptons."

"A little bit," Castle replied before they went up to the host. As they were led in through the building towards the back he said, "You had a reservation?"

"We always eat here when we come," Mary explained. "And since we're such a large party we'll have to sit at separate tables."

"Still next to each other though," Alexis said as they were led to two facing west, right at the water.

"You'll fit at yours right?" Skye asked them in concern as Castle and Beckett sat next to Eliza on one side of their table.

"We're fine," Beckett assured her. When the McDouglases were at the other table she looked at the menu and told Julia, "See what you want first."

"What are you gonna get Eliza?" the little girl asked her sister after their mother had read what was on the kid's menu.

"The fish," Eliza said with a nod.

"I'm gonna get that too," Julia replied.

When they'd ordered drinks and their food at the same time Alexis said, "What did you two like better?" as she looked between her sisters. "The flowers or the museum?"

"That's a tough question," Castle commented as the two girls looked a little hesitant though Eliza soon looked out at the water.

"He's right, it is 'lexis," Julia replied, nodding in agreement with her father.

"Okay," Alexis replied with a smile. "Did you two like Old Town?"

"I did," Julia replied hurriedly. "I liked the house in the middle."

"The Casa de Estudillo," Beckett said.

"That one," Julia said. "It would be fun to live in a house like that. That shape and with a fountain and bell."

"The well too," Castle reminded her.

"That was pretty but we have water inside the house already," Julia replied after thinking about that for a moment.

"What about you Lizzy?" Alexis asked her.

"I don't think she's going to be too responsive," Beckett said, leaning over as Eliza wasn't looking at them. She glanced outside at the view and shaking her head told them, "No she won't be."

"I don't blame her," Alexis said, looking on as Julia took a picture. "It is pretty. I envy you guys your view a little."

"You have one too," Castle said. "Of the bay and it's a nice one."

"He's right," Julia said then. "But yours is of this bay."

"So we'll both see a bay," Beckett told them. Since their food was served they couldn't reply to that and she helped Eliza with her dish before she started on her own.

"Did we all get fish and chips?" Alexis asked with laughter in her tone after they'd taken a few bites.

"We did but they are good," Castle was quick to add.

"Did you guys?" Alexis asked Skye and Mary who were behind her and Julia.

"No different stuff but you're enjoying it?" Skye asked.

"Yeah it's great," Castle called to her. When the McDouglases went back to their food he said, "I almost forgot about that surprise for dinner tomorrow she was talking about."

"I bet you anything," Alexis told him. "It's another seafood place."

"Well of course, we're on the sea," Castle said before he laughed with her. "But what about staying at the zoo all day?"

"We'll ask her that later," Beckett told him. "And we're not finished with today yet."

"What're we doing after?" Julia asked interestedly.

"You know there's a kite store down by where everyone else was flying one," Castle said.

"You're going to get one just for that?" Alexis asked, looking over at Beckett.

"We discussed it," she replied in response to her stepdaughter's expression. "And the girls' kites are getting a little bit run down."

"Go fly now?" Eliza asked as she'd been listening closely to them.

"Well we have to eat, then buy them and fly them," Castle said. "But don't go too fast," he swiftly said as he knew that the two would start trying to finish as quickly as they could. "We will fly them; believe me I want to see what you two pick out. But it won't help if you get sick."

Beckett smiled as the girls then went back to eating but they weren't trying to rush through the rest of their food. She reached over to Castle, gently squeezing his hand before they tried to distract their daughters about the kites until they were finished with the meal. As Castle was paying and Alexis remained with him she left with Julia and Eliza to walk towards the store on the boardwalk. They were alone and eventually she stopped near the kite store, sitting down on the wall and helping Julia up before picking up Eliza to place on her lap. "You two had fun today," she said.

"Lots and lots," the toddler responded first as she leaned against her mother, looking out at the water. She then giggled and said, "Wanna see aminals Mommy."

"We will tomorrow," Julia said quickly before their mother could say. "And Marie and Kathy said it's a big zoo and there's a sky train."

"Skyfari," Marie said as she approached them with the others. "We get to ride it sometimes."

"You'll see tomorrow," Skye said. "We're going to take our walk now so you guys enjoy those kites," she said, handing Beckett her camera.

"Did I forget this?" she asked, a little startled.

"I took it to take some pictures love," Castle said. "I forgot to hand it back to you."

"Now you have it," Julia said.

Beckett smiled at that and set Eliza down before putting her camera strap back around her wrist, following the others into the store. She went with the toddler as the little girl was enjoying the different patterns of the kites and she had to try and get her to settle on one for herself. "This one?" she asked when Eliza finally picked one up and hugged it to her.

"Not surprising it's a butterfly," Castle said as he walked over to them with Julia and Alexis.

"What did you pick out?" Beckett asked as he went to pay.

"A sea turtle," Julia said. "Are you gonna take pictures Mommy?"

"As soon as we get started," Beckett promised.

They were soon doing so as they went outside to a patch of grass next to the water where a few people were still flying kites. After Castle and Beckett helped the girls set them up they launched them and the latter took pictures as her husband and Alexis were helping the girls. They watched the two kites hovering in the wind above them as the sun sank lower in the west.

* * *

"Hey no jumping on the bed you two," Beckett said, coming into the bedroom the girls were going to use at the house by Mission Bay. "And get into bed; it's time to sleep so you won't be tired."

"She's right," Julia said, stopping then. "Are we getting up early tomorrow?"

Moving the covers with Castle so they could put the bed sheet over their daughters, Beckett said, "You heard what Skye said, it's better if we get there when it opens since we're going to leave a little bit before it closes at six. So you'll get up at eight, get ready and we'll come get you as soon as we're done getting ready."

"You won't take a long time will you?" Julia asked.

"No we want to see as much of the zoo as we can," Castle answered.

"You too Mommy?" Eliza asked.

"Of course," Beckett said. "You know I do love going to the zoo back at home."

"Okay goodnight Julia, Eliza I love you both," Castle said to the girls, leaning over to share kisses with them both.

"Night Daddy, love you," Julia said first as her sister was yawning widely.

"Love you too Daddy," Eliza mumbled.

Sharing a smile with Castle as she leaned over the bed then, Beckett kissed their daughters and told them, "I love you too Julia, Eliza, sweet dreams tonight."

"Love you Mommy," the toddler said before patting her mother's cheek.

"I love you too Mommy," Julia added as she watched Beckett kiss Eliza's palm before she moved to kiss her on the forehead.

"Night Alexis," Beckett said as she and Castle went to the doorway and she walked into it.

"Night, have fun at the hotel," the young woman said with a smile. "I'll take care of them."

"We know you will," Castle said, hugging and kissing her. "Goodnight kiddo."

After Alexis had closed the door to the bedroom Beckett led her husband down the hall past the other bedroom which was closed as well since Skye and Mary had put the twins to bed. "We're going to head back to the hotel," she said to the two women who were in the living room.

"We're about to head up ourselves," Mary said. "It's going to be a lot of walking."

Castle wanted to speak to that, since it was only eight at night, but when his wife elbowed him in the side he stopped and said, "So we should do the same."

"We'll call when we're leaving," Beckett said. When they'd said goodnight to the two women after stepping outside she took Castle's hand and said, "Thank you."

"It would have been a little rude," he replied as they went to the car in the driveway. "But you think they figured out we're doing the same going to bed this early?"

"What makes you think we're going to bed as soon as we get back?" Beckett asked him across the roof of the car. She smiled when he looked over at her and then got inside, keeping her gaze ahead of them as they made their way back to the hotel. It wasn't until they were in the elevator going up that she told him, "I would like some tea."

"Chamomile?" Castle asked her as they neared their floor. He wasn't surprised when she nodded but the way she held tightly to his hand as they walked down the hall made him a little hopeful.

Inside their room Beckett went over to the couch in front of one of the windows, looking out at the bay as she could hear Castle behind her getting together their tea. When he soon came over to her she saw that he only had one mug and she took it, her eyebrow raised slightly in question as he sat on the other side of the couch so he could lean against the back there.

"I'm not thirsty," Castle explained easily, watching her take the first sip. He then looked out and said, "Yeah the girls were right, we have a great view."

Smiling at him, Beckett said, "Here."

Though he really wasn't thirsty Castle automatically took the mug and a sip as he turned his attention to her while she got up. He was a little startled when she came back with a blanket he knew had been in her suitcase and he said, "Your mom was smart."

Setting the blanket on the bed; wondering if her husband knew already what she had in mind with that; Beckett sat back down on the couch and said, "She was." She smiled when he looked a little startled at how simply she'd spoken and she took another sip of tea before saying, "I love you, you know that right?"

"I had an idea of it," Castle told her, slightly teasingly.

Smiling widely at that, Beckett leaned over to him and after their lips had gently met she murmured, "You're a great father."

"And you're an amazing mother," Castle told her. "But that's just one reason I love you. Too many facets of you to name and I'd be here all night too." He then took the rest of the tea after getting the mug and sipped at it before he leaned over and took her lips gently, carefully to judge what she wanted.

"Rick-" Beckett started to say when he pulled away too quickly for her.

"No love I realize already, I'm just letting you say first," Castle said, glancing at the blanket.

The two stared into each other's eyes then and without a word they stood up and as Castle set the mug on the desk in front of the other window Beckett was moving the little table in front of the couch. Together they got the two pillows off the couch and down on the floor and the blanket was draped over it. Normally packed in case she had needed the extra warmth on trips, it had become their cover.

But as soon as things were set Castle and Beckett were in each other's arms and kissing as frantically as they possibly could. Things went quickly from there and their clothes were soon being discarded around them on the floor between the couch and bed.

"I should have known you were serious," Castle said as he sat down and took his wife as she sat on his lap. Both of them naked he reached up to cup her breast before he carefully played with the nipple on her right mound.

"You should have but I guess I should give you the benefit of the doubt since we did a lot between then and now," Beckett said, watching him and arching her back a little in response. She then caressed his cheek and managed to turn his gaze to her before murmuring, "But I'm ready now Rick. And I want you to fuck me, right here."

Shuddering for a moment at that Castle helped her turn around so she was facing away from him. He hissed heavily as she lowered herself down onto his erection while he held her by the hips hard. When she was set he looked to see that Beckett was ready with her feet on the ground but before he could sit up straight she was already starting to move. Letting out a heavy groan of pleasure at that he wrapped his arms around her tightly, bringing his chest flush against her back. After a moment to see how she wanted to move he was pushing his feet down into the floor to help him reach her pace. It was quickly done and he felt a rush of heat that made him feel nearly dizzy as he then raised his hands up to cover her breasts. And hearing by her cries and gasps that she was being affected as well he quickly started to fondle her; spurred on by her reactions to him.

"Wait," Beckett suddenly said, stopping her movements on him abruptly though it was nearly torture to her. Her body protested immediately the loss of the friction between them and she had to fight against her own self to keep still.

"Wait? For what?" Castle asked, his voice a little breathy and strained at the same time.

"I want us to turn around," Beckett told him, glancing back at him.

"Turn around?" Castle asked in shock. But a second later he was moving with her after she had gotten off of him, going to the opening in the back of the couch as she went around it. He grabbed her hand once she was in front of him and helped her sit down on him, both of them working together to get him back inside of her. He groaned as she sucked in a breath of air heavily in response to him. As soon as she was moving he didn't wait and was reaching up to her breasts yet again. "If someone sees us…" he began to say, caressing the mounds carefully.

"No one will," Beckett breathed before she turned her head and let him kiss her. It had to be a swift one, since they weren't positioned the right way, and once she was sitting leaning back against him she laid her head on his shoulder. She closed her eyes tightly in pleasure at the sensation of him getting deep within her and the friction between their bodies again. She reached up eventually and covered his hands with hers and made him move them up and down over her breasts before she murmured to him in Irish. There was no shock when he immediately did as she had asked and his hand raced down to her sex. "Oh god I didn't mean tease me first!" she protested when he gently fingered where they were coupled together. Light brushes of his fingers that made her jerk back against him hard before he finally moved up to her clit and started to finger it carefully.

Castle wasn't surprised when his wife slightly jerked back against him, though the motion was uneven. He did that a few more times until he stopped and then just concentrated on her and moving in her. He was feeling the pleasure building up, trying to keep himself from giving in to that though it was hard as it was getting intense with each thrust he made. He leaned over slightly and began to kiss the top of her shoulder, brushing his lips there before he pushed her hair over her left shoulder and then began kissing around her neck. He could only go along the side of it but could still feel her pulse that was racing under her skin. Finally he had enough some time later and made her stop by holding her hips firmly. "Turn around," he finally said.

Beckett nearly started to shiver in pleasure at the tone of his voice, which was rough and insistent, and she hurriedly got off of him before turning around to straddle his lap. Once her knees were on the couch she said, "That was enough," since it was the second time she'd done that. She shifted a little and took him inside of her yet again and she gasped saying, "I'm so glad you can do that."

Wanting to ask what she meant Castle was unable to as he was moving with her again, regaining their rapid rhythm together easily. He wrapped his arms around her next and as they kissed hungrily he completely forgot what they were talking about as they were dueling each other in her mouth. Once they had parted he went down to her neck, kissing her there as much as he possibly could until he finally pulled away slowly. "Another reason why I love you," he then told her.

"I find it's…" Beckett started to say before she was leaning her head back and moaning deeply as he had taken her right nipple into his mouth. She couldn't continue for a moment as he was hungrily suckling at her breast and she held onto the back of his head tightly to try and have something to anchor her against the immediate reaction of her body. She was shaking a little and her heart was racing, making her hear the pounding of it in her ears. She stroked his hair as he eventually made it over to her other breast and repeated the same action there. She was moaning his name until finally he pulled back and moved to press his forehead against hers. "I love you," she whispered, their lips brushing together as she spoke.

"I adore you Kate," Castle said firmly. He was suddenly aching to lay her down; wherever he could manage to find a flat spot for her body that wasn't the floor; and he had to fight that urge as he was suddenly enthralled by the way his wife was rolling her hips against him. He had to slow down, not caring as he was enjoying watching her as closely as he could. Finally she began to rock against him and he entwined his fingers together on the small of her back as he tried the same motion with her. He wasn't quite able to get it but it didn't matter, thrusting up against her allowed him to get deep enough in her to make them both react vocally and a short time later he could sense they were close.

Beckett closed her eyes tightly in joy, letting everything overtake her until finally it was overwhelming her senses. She broke and pleasurably so until she was crying out Castle's name in ecstasy before he was thrusting wildly up against her. She heard the smack of their skin together and for a moment forgot where they were as all she knew was her husband's release with her own. When she stopped and he had made his last few thrusts she slumped against him and it was a shock to see the hotel room behind him. The lingering pleasure still making her sex throb around him, she tried to ignore that as she turned to look out the window.

"Did you forget where we were?" Castle asked, watching her closely. When she turned to him he saw that she had and he felt his heart thudding in his chest as he made her stand up. He easily picked her up in his arms and carried her to the bed to her surprised cry. Once he had lain her down in the middle he climbed up on top; though it was more of a leap onto her; and then got on his hands and knees above her before saying, "Sleep?"

"Not even close to that yet," Beckett said, shaking her head firmly before putting her hand on the back of his head and pushing him down to her. That kiss, though it was passionate, was sensuous at the same time and she was trembling by the end of it, writhing against the cool bed at her back. "One more time," she told him.

"We can try," Castle said. He didn't let her respond to that and instead he leaned down to take her lips with his own. As soon as he could he slipped his tongue into her mouth and they began to playfully fight until they finally had to part to breathe. He looked down at her body once he'd pushed himself up and he leaned down to her again. But that time he pressed his lips against her breasts, quick and caressing kisses that had her moaning under her breath briefly. He worked his way down until he was at the apex of her legs and he looked up at her saying, "Show me."

"Myself or you?" Beckett asked with a slight smile. When her husband took her hand and brought it down to her clit she had her answer and proceeded to begin rubbing at herself. She kept her eyes on Castle, moaning in pleasure softly until she let him take over. She knew he was trying to make sure that she was ready for him again but soon became a little impatient with it and she pushed his hand away. Hauling him up to her by his shoulders, she wrapped her arms and legs around him to bring him down against her as she kissed him at the same time. She could feel that he was rigid with desire and she wondered when that had happened exactly. But the thought didn't stay with her for long as he pulled back and grabbed her right leg, putting the ankle onto his shoulder.

There was little to be startled at when his wife wrapped her leg tightly around his waist and Castle had the last bit of encouragement he needed to slip within her, both of them breathing out hard in response to the sensation of being coupled again. He then proceeded to move and he started out a little slowly at first, looking down at Beckett as he did so. Her hands were up by her head on the pillow and that drew his gaze immediately down to her breasts and in turn the entirety of her body that he could see. After so many years together he knew her body well but the fact that he had it shielded from him daily helped him to become in a way ecstatic to discover it all over again. And though he'd done so a little the bout before it didn't take away from his joy as he trailed his fingers over her ribs that were slightly visible or the way her faint scar along her side from childhood undulated with the way her body was doing trying to move with him in steady sync. He groaned and then reached up to hold her leg before turning his head.

Seeing his lips pressing against her Beckett found herself a little dissatisfied with that and she slid her leg away from his grip to wrap down around his legs, the other soon joining. As soon as she could she was pushing herself up onto her elbows where she kissed him as hard as possible. Eventually her right hand came up and cupped his cheek and she tried to keep that up though she soon had to end it as her need to breathe became too much with how fast she was moving in time with him. When he carefully pushed her shoulder back she lay down again and kept her eyes locked to his as he changed the angle of his thrusts. His searching for her clit made her respond immediately in assisting him find it and together they managed to get him to slam against it and her. She lost control of herself and swore heavily as the explosions of pleasure seemed to meld into each other whenever he entered her. She was holding onto the pillow on either side of her head as she watched where their bodies met, the speed of them both making her bite her lower lip.

Castle, catching his wife doing that, was sure that he was going to start having a heart attack at the way she looked; the sight never failing to make him want her lips badly. And since he could do so then he took them hungrily and kissed her as hard as possible while she held onto him tightly. He was sure their rhythm was a little off as he could faintly hear the sound of their hips smacking though not together. When he'd pulled away from her he pressed his forehead against hers, feeling her panting breath against his lower lip. He wasn't aware of it but he was mumbling her name and the words I love you repeatedly, making her kiss him to his slight shock. The taste of her tongue as it slid into his mouth made him start to move harder though he wasn't sure how he had the energy to do so. But it was making him feel like he was burning and he didn't want it to stop so he allowed himself to continue until he'd reached his breaking point with her.

At their mutual orgasm Beckett was taken aback since it didn't happen often but she wasn't about to complain to him as it made her literally writhe against him while he was still thrusting within her. Her body was throbbing from head to toe and she couldn't tell the separate spasms of her form until she began to slow down. She could easily feel Castle's pleasure as he moved against her and she stroked the back of his head until she slumped back against the bed, exhausted for the moment. She breathed out her pleasure at the sensation of him thrusting hard against her still form but he soon stopped and slumped down against her hard. Smiling she continued to stroke his head before he moved and she said, "Remember where we are?"

Castle was tempted to give her a look before the desire to slipped away as he studied her and he leaned down, kissing her on the lips as hard as he could. He then tilted his head to the side and kissed her a little more passionately until they were slowly parting when they needed to breathe again. "Did I tell you I love you tonight?" he eventually asked her.

"You mentioned it," Beckett said before he carefully moved to lie down next to her. She pressed against his side before laying her cheek on his shoulder and said, "And I might love you too."

"After the way you reacted to me I would say that's a little more than might," Castle said, rubbing his hand up and down her side slowly. Feeling her shiver at his touch he then said, "I can be easily tempted."

"Me too," Beckett replied, as she'd started to rub her fingers against his collarbone. At that she moved her entire hand down to his chest, working her fingers against him slowly until she forced herself to stop. "It was fun today," she told him, raising her head a little bit to look at him.

"Yeah," Castle said, a little confused until it quickly came to him why she'd said that. He took the distraction and added, "Old Town was great and those houses up above it were nice."

"I'm not surprised you enjoyed the architecture," Beckett told him as she remembered the park of houses and a synagogue that had been built in the late 1800s. They both became quiet and she then sighed in frustration, sitting up and watching as her husband did the same. She could see what she was feeling reflected in his eyes and she turned her head to check the time on the alarm clock.

Leaning a little past her, Castle commented, "It's still a little early."

"Then screw one more time," Beckett said before she grabbed Castle and pulled him down with her.

"Are you mad at me?" Castle asked in slight surprise though he followed her lead and descended to her breasts.

"I… oh, yes," Beckett started to say before she moaned deeply when he began to suckle at her taut nipple. "No, I'm not, I want you."

"Oh thank god, I need you Kate," Castle said, moving a little until he could just barely enter her.

"So do I Rick," Beckett replied, reaching down to help him the rest of the way.

With a combined groan of pleasure Castle and Beckett began to thrust against one another, starting out as hard and rapidly as they could. They forgot everything else but each other as their desire for one another escalated. And it would come to overwhelm them as they indulged in the time they had together until they could no longer disregard their need for sleep; though they enjoyed every second they had until they forced themselves to eventually part.


	19. On Moonlight Bay

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The title of this chapter is a lyric from the song Moonlight Bay by Edward Madden, the version I have taken from is from a spoof of the song sung by The Beatles on The Morcambe and Wise Show the track found on The Beatles' album Anthology 1.

Her right hand up next to her head, fingers slightly curled, Beckett watched her husband as he used his tongue to pick up the strawberry that he'd placed on her abdomen. "I don't know if you needed to be that careful," she teased him.

"Oh now you're going to critique my methods?" Castle asked jokingly after he'd finished eating. He pushed himself up to her and then said, "If you didn't want me to do that you should have said."

"I told you I was fine with it," Beckett reminded him simply. She then smiled and said, "And I don't think you would have taken no for an answer anyways."

Castle wanted to comment on that but he was distracted when his wife reached down to her stomach and brushed her fingertips against it. "What's wrong?" he asked, noticing the expression on her face.

"Now I'm all sticky," Beckett replied, keeping her face expressionless then.

Jerking his head back a little at that Castle said, "Let me check…"

Beckett tried not to smile at that; as it had been her plan all along; watching him slip his fingers in between her legs which she quickly spread for him. As he began to toy with her slick folds she moaned and said, "I don't know if we have that much time."

"I think there's enough," Castle said, moving the plate where their breakfast of fruit had been to the nightstand where their empty coffee mugs were. As soon as they were out of the way he moved to his wife's body and stopped once he was above her. He didn't give her much time to say anything to that and he slid inside of her to their slight gasps of air. "We just did this… have been for years," he told her.

"You think I know the reason why we react like this?" Beckett asked, feeling a heady rush of pleasure at the sensation of his length rigid within her. She wrapped her legs around his as he soon started to move and she moaned as the feel of him was quick to shoot through her entire body. She closed her eyes tightly at the same time she was wrapping her arms around his back, gripping his shoulders tightly before he was moving over to her lips. She accepted his kiss, responded to it and deepened it herself as he was a little weak for her taste. And she could soon taste him as their tongues met and curled carefully around each other. While they were doing all of that she'd started to thrust against him and the friction between their carefully moving bodies was enough to make her break things off, whispering his name in her joy.

Kissing along her neck Castle tried to remember that they didn't have the chance to really linger and with that he used everything he had and that he knew to bring her to the edge faster. When he could sense they were close some time later he moved slightly faster and a little more differently. He couldn't stop himself, losing control a moment before Beckett did and hoping that she wasn't going to mind him doing that as they were both calling each other's names once.

When they'd calmed down Beckett could feel the familiar sense of lassitude in her though she hadn't been expending all that much energy that time. But it was still pleasant and went well with the throbbing of her body as Castle carefully pulled away. When he had she raised her head to look at the clock and seeing the time she said, "I need a shower."

"Me too," Castle said. "Now I'm sticky." He wasn't surprised at the look his wife gave him but was when she grabbed his hand and proceeded to pull him to the bathroom where they slipped into the shower and quickly into one another's arms under the rushing water.

After they'd finished and managed to get out of the bathroom to dress, Beckett looked out on the bay and said to her husband, "It looks like it's a beautiful day."

"You know there's a pool here," Castle told her. When she looked to him he nodded and said, "On the third floor and it's adults only."

"So you want to have a swim?" Beckett asked with a British accent as she sat next to him on the end of the bed to put on her shoes.

"I would," Castle said, watching her slip into her tennis shoes.

"You've seen me in these before," Beckett told him as she nudged him in the side slightly.

"But not so often I'm going to be used to them on your feet," Castle said. He then was shaken from his stare as his wife moved to stand in front of him. "We're ready?" he asked.

"Rick, I don't want you like this when we pick up our daughters," Beckett told him as she pulled him up.

"Sorry just a little bit of earlier… lingering," Castle told her apologetically.

"That makes no sense," Beckett said before she wrapped her arms around his neck. When he looked slightly startled at that she smiled and told him, "But one more kiss."

"Don't think I won't try later," Castle was swift to tell her. When she merely smiled and leaned into him he groaned before he kissed her, holding her tightly to him. He gently slipped his tongue into her mouth but only allowed himself to stroke hers once before they parted. "I'm not kidding," he said when they looked into each other's eyes.

"Yes I expected that," Beckett replied wryly. She kissed her husband briefly on the lips before grabbing a jacket and then leaving with him, walking hand in hand to the elevator.

Letting her drive them to the house, Castle looked past her to the view of the water of Mission Bay and as they were going off the freeway he said, "They did have a good view."

"I know," Beckett replied, not looking as she was concentrating on getting to the street. She wasn't all that surprised to see Skye and Mary outside, watching their daughters with Alexis running around the lemon and orange trees that were in front of the house. "I think we were a little late leaving," she told her husband as she parked, glancing at him.

"Okay so I may have taken longer than I'd promised," Castle said quickly. "But you can't blame me. Also I don't think you could have stopped me." He looked back at her easily when she tried to fix him with a look of her own and he broke off their stare first, laughing and saying, "We were about even love."

"I think so," Beckett agreed, laughing softly herself before they got out of the car. There was part of her that wasn't in the least startled when arms flung themselves around her almost as soon as she'd closed the door and she looked down at Eliza asking, "You're ready to go?"

"Go to the zoo! Go to the zoo!" the toddler chanted, jumping up and down in her exuberance.

"Eliza," Beckett said then, kneeling in front of her and making her stop. "I know you're excited but you know the rules at this zoo are the same as when we go to the one at home right?"

"Yeah," Eliza replied, nodding her head. "I stay with you."

"Okay so for now calm down or else you're going to be too tired already," Beckett told her teasingly. "And we haven't even gotten over there yet."

"We will soon," Mary said, coming over to them. "Good morning," she said, tossing an orange in her hand to Beckett.

"Not a good idea," Skye said as Castle held his hands out for the orange she was carrying. She handed it to him and told him, "I remember when we played catch on the beach last year."

"And you don't think I improved at all?" Castle inquired.

"Not in the slightest," Skye said teasingly. "Alright everyone into the cars so we can finally go."

When they were behind Skye and Mary's car, Beckett said, "Did they wake up early?"

"A little, I'm not sure how early exactly though," Alexis replied; since the question was directed at her. "But I know I did wake up at ten to eight with these two whispering to one another next to me."

"We weren't up too long before you woke up," Julia protested before she giggled. "And we were excited."

"And when you're at the zoo you'll stop being excited, right?" Castle asked.

"No!" Eliza said so loudly that she made ever her mother jump slightly. She giggled out an apology and then said, "Can I see a g'raffe?"

"I think they'll have those," Castle replied, glancing at his wife as they got onto another freeway. "And a lot more you two haven't seen before."

"Do you know? 'Cause we asked Alexis this morning and she wouldn't say what she saw," Julia asked him.

"No I've never been here so the only thing I can be sure they'll have is giraffes… likely lions too," Castle told her honestly.

Glancing up into the rearview mirror then Beckett caught sight of Julia in the middle of the backseat opening her mouth and she told her, "I don't know either sweetie but I'll agree with what your daddy said."

Julia nodded and then looked out the window as they went to yet another freeway that had trees around it and a hill on the side too. "Look at the bridge!" she exclaimed in joy at the sight of the tall structure they soon passed under. When they got off the freeway she saw some buildings she recognized quickly and then said, "Weren't we here yesterday?"

"That's where the zoo is, Balboa Park," Beckett said as she followed Skye through the parking.

"Looks like she was right to come early," Castle commented as they parked close to the front but could see there were already a number of cars. "Everyone has a hat of some kind right? Love?"

"Skye let me borrow one," Beckett said with a smirk as she pulled one out of the bag that she'd brought.

"Oh no way and she didn't have one for me?" Castle said in faked jealousy at her dark blue NTSB hat. He was startled when she took out another one and handed it over to him and said, "I wasn't really serious… I'll have to thank her," he said as he then hurried to put it on. "Everyone got sunscreen too?"

"I put it on at the house and yes Dad on me too," Alexis said, taking Eliza out of the car and putting on her own NTSB hat. She had to set her sister down as the toddler ran to their father and she felt Julia's hand slip into hers.

"Mommy's going to take care of the tickets," Julia told her big sister.

"I have the tickets," Skye told them since they'd merged together walking to the entrance. "Here you are," she told Beckett, handing the papers to her.

"We could have-" Beckett began.

"It's alright, I have a great deal to thank you for, this is my attempt at that," Skye told her, interrupting her before she could continue.

"If the hats are too then thank you for them," Castle added quickly as Eliza patted his head through his hat.

"You're welcome, they're spares I had," Skye said. She then looked at the four of them and said, "It appears we are a posse."

Bursting out laughing at the way the woman had worded that, Castle tried to stop and explained, "Really funny the way you pronounced that, sorry."

"That was my intention, glad I made you laugh," Skye said.

Before anyone could say anything else they were stepping up to the entrance and after giving their tickets and passing inside the zoo Eliza tugged at her father's hand as he'd set her down. "Daddy!" the toddler cried. "Daddy, look at the birdies!"

"I know, hold on though," Castle said, waiting to make sure the others were with them so they could walk over to the flamingoes that were directly ahead of them. He held her hand tightly as she watched them with wide eyes, crying out as one started to flap its wings in front of them.

"Mommy-" Eliza then said, seeming to be in a panic as she looked around to see where she was.

"I'm taking pictures," Beckett said soothingly, lowering her camera from her shot. "And so are your sisters it looks like," she told the toddler in amusement as she saw that both Alexis and Julia were taking pictures with their own cameras.

"So where are we off to?" Castle asked Skye.

"Are we your guides here?" the woman asked. When he shrugged as he nodded at the same time she smiled and said, "Well the children's zoo is right this way so we can go and take a look see at what there is to see."

"Are you gonna play on the playground?" Kathleen asked the toddler as they were walking together again.

"Is there?" Eliza asked her with wide eyes.

Nodding Kathleen took her hand that Eliza held out to her and said to Castle, "I'll keep her with us."

"Thank you," Castle said as he looked at his wife who had caught up to him then. "Hey love."

Smiling at that Beckett nodded to their right and told him, "There's the reptile house."

"Oh yeah," Castle said, seeing that just ahead of them Marie and Kathleen were telling their daughters that. He then glanced over at Skye and Mary and said, "Either of you scared."

"One of us," Skye replied. "Why, are you?"

"No," Castle said quickly. When he saw his wife looking at him he said, "What?"

Shaking her head Beckett took his hand then before they got to a wooden bridge and all of a sudden a jet of water flew over to the other side above their daughters. When she heard Eliza cry out as they got wet she was concerned for a moment before the toddler was laughing loudly. "I guess she doesn't mind that," she commented to her husband.

"You thought she would too?" Castle asked her. When she nodded he squeezed her hand gently before they came to the playground that Kathleen had mentioned. "So Eliza, are you going to play?" he asked before the toddler was pulling Kathleen to the right where there was a habitat of a tree enclosed with glass. "Maybe not," he told his wife.

"I don't think so," Beckett replied, shaking her head when she saw inside a tiny primate. When Eliza's cry of joy at the sight of it came back to them she laughed for a moment and said, "Definitely not."

"Look Jules!" Eliza was gasping as one of the animals was climbing to the end of a branch near them. She held her breath as her sister took a picture and she asked, "Did it go?"

"I came out great," Julia said happily, looking at the screen of her camera. She then felt her sister tugging her shirt and she looked down at her, seeing that Eliza was biting her lower lip. "What?"

"Can we take it home?" Eliza asked, pointing to it.

"Eliza," Castle said then, having heard her. "You remember what you learned at school, zoo animals aren't good pets."

"Yeah, 'cause they're wild," Julia added. "But I wish we could take them home."

"I do too," Alexis said, laughing slightly as she spoke and making Eliza; who'd pouted a little; smile at her.

"Let's keep walking," Mary suggested carefully then. "There's a lot more to see."

"The whole zoo?" Beckett asked with a smile.

"Essentially but this section too," Skye said before she laughed a little as they went to the next animal, a porcupine.

Going past the next couple of animals they came to a petting zoo and there Eliza nearly became hyper as she was able to see the miniature horses that were towards the back of the area. She was jumping up and down for so long that her father had to pick her up and take her inside the area. She pet the goats and sheep but soon went over to where one of the horses was, sticking its head over the fence of its area.

"Pretty pony," Eliza said, sticking her hand out carefully. She giggled and squirmed when the horse whickered and then nibbled at the hay that she'd put onto her palm. "Mommy, Daddy see?" she asked, seeing that her sisters were also with her.

"We see sweetheart," Castle said, taking a picture with his phone while Beckett was taking one with her camera.

Watching him send that picture she then said, "My father's going to see me at that age very easily."

"More so now," Castle said, taking another as Eliza was rubbing her hand up and down over the horse's nose not surprised when his wife nodded in agreement.

"Can I pet it now?" Julia asked her sister.

Eliza opened her mouth to say no when she felt her mother's hand on her shoulder and she quickly closed it before nodding.

Rubbing the horse's nose and smiling as it stared at her with its large eyes Julia thanked it before she followed the others out of the area where they washed their hands. She noticed that Eliza was looking back at the horse fondly and she went to take her hand saying, "We'll see horses back at home."

"She's right," Castle told them. "Your mom and I are definitely going riding once we get back."

"And I'll let you two go on Alex again," Beckett said simply. When she saw Eliza's slightly stunned look she laughed softly under her breath and told her, "You need another lesson."

"Yeah," the toddler said with a rapid nod.

"Okay let's keep going the twins are already walking away," Castle said, noticing the McDouglases were ahead of them. He started to pick up Eliza but she shook her head and went to Beckett taking her hand. "Oh good, you want to swing," he said, going to take her other hand.

Eliza cried out in joy as her parents swung her forward in between them, giggling happily before they came to an exhibit that the twins gestured them over to see hurriedly. She looked up at her parents; since they were at the back of the group; and when they let her go she rushed to see what was inside the box. "What is it? Jules, 'lexis? What is it?" she asked, her mouth dropping open at the little pink, hairless creatures.

"Naked mole rats," Alexis said in slight disgust. "I didn't see these last time."

"They're kinda cute, look at their teeth," Julia said.

"Yeah and they're a pretty color too," Marie said. "Even if it's their skin."

"Wow I wouldn't want to see one of those running around the house," Castle said.

"I doubt Macca would let them," Beckett replied.

Thinking about that for a second Castle nodded in agreement and then went to get Eliza away from the animals so they could go through the rest of the section. He wasn't surprised when it became a little difficult to get the toddler away from the animals, especially when they came to the fennec foxes.

"Daddy, the ears," Eliza cried happily as she watched the ones in the habitat sleeping.

"I know but we should let them rest," Beckett then told her to try and get her away. "Come on there's so much more left."

Eliza glanced back but when her mother assured her that she had taken a picture of them she allowed her to lead her back the way they'd come, rushing to go under the water on the bridge and getting wet before Skye started to talk.

"So now we're taking you straight to one of our favorite sections," the woman said, focusing more on Eliza and smiling at the toddler who did so back shyly. "Get ready to go to Australia Miss Eliza."

"On the plane?" the toddler asked, her eyes widening at that as Julia and Alexis took her hands and they started to walk again.

"Not really, we're just going to see animals from there… I think," Julia said carefully. She had been hoping someone would say if she was right or not but wasn't too taken aback to not get an answer. When they walked past the entrance and went in the other direction past it she then noticed what looked like a secluded garden with a pond to their right. "There are koi!" she cried eagerly as she was able to see the water. "And look, ducks!"

"This way," Skye said with a smile, motioning to the entrance she and Kathleen were near. "Wait," she then said as she stopped the others. "Kate?"

A little confused at first as to why the woman had called her, Beckett went to the entrance and immediately saw what Skye had been pointing out to her. There was a tree with pink flowers with a willow tree with darker greenish grey leaves that contrasted with it. After she'd taken a picture of that she said to her friend, " _Same shot_?"

" _Same shot_ ," Skye replied with a smile, as they'd both been speaking Russian. "Sorry, you can go ahead now."

"She's taken that picture before?" Castle asked as he stayed with her while she was taking a picture of the garden from that end.

"Your Russian's getting a little better," Beckett teased him. "Or was that a lucky guess?"

"Complete luck," Castle replied. They watched their daughters pointing at the large fish in the water and the ducks and he told her, "Nice to do this."

"Just be normal civilians?" Beckett said. When he nodded she smiled a little and then said in Irish, " _You know I started appreciating that more when I adopted her_ ," keeping her voice as low as possible though she didn't think Julia would have been able to translate that.

" _I noticed and I'm glad you did because it's nice to see you as you_ ," Castle said. " _No cases taking up your time_." He then switched back to English and told her, "But we're going back to that once we're home in the fall."

"Oh of course," Beckett said quickly before he held his hand out to her. She took a few pictures with one hand as they made their way to their family and then followed the McDouglases again outside.

"Look at those," Alexis said, pointing to what appeared to be totem poles ahead of them, smiling at her little sisters who looked at them with wide eyes before Julia was taking a picture.

"Those don't look like totem poles I've seen before," the little girl said once her camera was down.

"That's the idea," Alexis replied.

"Look! That's a kookaburra," Julia said, pointing to the bird in the habitat above them. She was surprised when the twins started to sing the song about it and she joined in before they reached another animal close by.

Picking up Eliza then as the habitat was below them Castle pointed down and said, "That's a Tasmanian devil."

"The cartoons?" the toddler asked.

"Yep but see how different he looks," Castle replied. When she nodded he kissed her temple and then laughed as she tried to imitate the cartoon. "Not too bad," he told her.

"That's scary," Julia said. "But cute too."

"Why scary?" Beckett asked.

"We learned about those in school 'cause someone in my class asked Mrs. Watson about them," Julia explained, leaning against her mother after she'd put her arm around her. "But they are cute, like I said. I think 'cause of their ears."

"You might be right," Beckett said before they then moved on. She held her daughter's hand and they soon came to a building that looked like they could have been in Australia and she told her, "Now you see what she meant."

Nodding, since she'd seen pictures of Australia and the same kind of architecture, Julia then suddenly gasped and cried out, "Are there koalas here?"

"There are," Mary said, looking back at her. "This is their favorite place to see."

"One of them," Skye added as the twins were nodding rapidly.

Walking to the turquoise colored building, they soon came to the first perch where one of the animals was sleeping. Everyone who had a camera began taking pictures and once they could assure Eliza that there were more to see, the group walked around and looked at some blue feathered birds.

"More," Eliza said excitedly as they came to more perches and more koalas, some of them awake and moving around before settling down again.

"Look down there," Castle told her, pointing to the ground of the habitat where an animal was going across the dirt.

"What is it?" Eliza gasped.

"That's a wallaby," Kathleen answered. "They're marsupials like kangaroos but smaller."

"A lot smaller," Julia said, nodding after she'd taken a picture of it. As they walked through the rest of the exhibit she looked back at Eliza, smiling as the little girl was staring intently at the koalas again. She then jumped when the toddler started to cry as they were leaving and she looked up at her mother.

"Eliza," Beckett called, not sternly but loudly enough to get her attention. "Look sweetie, there's a place here where you can climb like a koala."

"Come and see if you can Lizzy," Alexis called too then.

Down on the ground Eliza looked up at her father and rubbed her cheek before he ran his hand over her hair. She smiled at him shyly before rushing to where her sister and the twins were trying to climb onto the perch.

"That was one of those crises we were talking about yesterday," Castle told Skye and Mary as he and Beckett stood with them, watching their daughters play as Alexis stayed close to them to encourage them.

"Wow all of you got up to the top," the young woman said. She was going to tell the others to hurry and take a picture when she could hear they were doing so. Once she was sure they'd all gotten the shots she watched the four climb down before she picked up Eliza and threw her up above her gently, walking after the others back to their parents before they went around the habitat and towards another path.

"I'm thinking," Mary said to her wife as they stopped at some rhinoceros and let the others watch them in the habitat. "That we should go around this and then up to lunch."

"I had the same thought," Skye said before she noticed Castle and Beckett's youngest watching them. "Did you too?"

Eliza turned away quickly but then she whispered to her mother who was next to Alexis, "Hungry Mommy."

"Are you?" Beckett asked, looking at her watch.

"That might explain why she was a little upset leaving the animals a couple times," Castle said.

"We'll walk up to one place where we eat lunch now… mainly because of the animal it's by," Skye said. When she noticed that Castle and Beckett were watching her she said quickly, "Our girls told us to be vague."

"They want to surprise them," Beckett said. She wasn't surprised when Skye nodded and then asked, "Are there more animals going that way?"

"Of course," Skye said. "But we have some here that I'm sure Eliza will enjoy seeing."

"Me too," Julia said, going over to her. "Can you tell me is it true there are polar bears here?"

Smiling at that and starting to walk to the next animals, Skye told the little girl, "It is, that's one of the big exhibits here. But that we usually ride the Skyfari to go see."

"Oh Mommy, Daddy can-" Julia began.

"Yes," Castle interrupted.

"We can ride as many times as we want but you won't be scared?" Beckett asked her. When the little girl shook her head no she was surprised but thought it might be because the twins had told her more about it. She turned to Castle as they came to some kangaroos and Eliza was set down by her sister but was unable to speak before she did.

"They went to sleep!" the toddler cried in a whisper, looking at her sisters and parents. "See?"

"We see," Castle said in assurance as Eliza sounded a little hyper. He looked at the kangaroo by them that was on its back, another lying on its side. "They remind me of when we were in San Francisco."

"I thought that too," Julia agreed, having taken a picture of them. She smiled and said, "They're as cute too."

"Look at what's next," Alexis was telling Eliza as they walked past some zebras.

"G'raffes!" the toddler gasped, keeping her voice low. She nearly cried out when she was picked up but then relaxed when she realized it was her father, putting her on his shoulders. "They are very tall," she said seriously.

Laughing slightly at that Castle patted her leg and then felt her moving, trying to look up to see what she was doing.

"She's waving to that one," Beckett told him as she nodded to the animal closest to the fence where they were.

"Look at the baby one," Julia said, pointing to the smaller giraffe towards the back.

"I see it," Marie said happily. "That one wasn't here last time."

Since all four girls were entranced by the animals as they ate and walked around their habitat it took the adults a little cajoling to get them to leave. Eliza on Castle's shoulders nearly started to throw a tantrum before he took her and placed her on his hip.

"I think," he said to his daughter as she was sniffing loudly though she'd stopped outright crying. "That if I were a giraffe, I'd be the tallest one. Or would that be you?"

Smiling a little Eliza shook her head and said, "You Daddy."

"But would you want to be one? You would have to eat leaves you know," Castle told her, seeing Beckett next to him looked relieved that their youngest had calmed down.

Wrinkling her nose, Eliza shook her head and said, "I am hungry now."

"And now we're heading up to lunch," Skye said, turning back to them. She was surprised when all of a sudden Eliza was leaning towards her in her father's arms and she took the toddler after checking with Castle and Beckett that they didn't mind. "So what can I help you with Miss Eliza?" she asked before they were stopping at an exhibit with an Andean Bear inside.

"You see first," Eliza explained. "All the aminals."

"Ah," Skye said with a laugh. "I know where I'm going." She let the toddler look at the bear before they went to the animals that were after it. After they'd passed some monkeys a while later she said, "We're close to lunch now."

Julia looked at the name of it and said, "Is it Chinese?"

"Asian," Mary said. "And a good variety, they do have burgers here Rick."

"Yeah I see," Castle replied as they were in line by then. "So what are we getting the girls love?"

"Hopefully I can choose my own," Alexis said teasingly.

"You don't want a kid's souvenir cup?" Beckett asked, keeping her voice as serious as possible.

"I'll let them get that," Alexis replied, flat out laughing at that. "No I'll try the Teriyaki Chicken."

"That's what's on the kid's meal," Beckett said, looking at the girls. "And it comes with rice." When the two nodded she and Castle went to where the McDouglases had ordered and after making sure they had everything for everyone they joined the family at one of the two tables for four they'd saved. "So what do you think?" she asked Eliza who was sitting on her lap. "Ready to go?"

"No," Eliza said firmly, wrinkling her nose at the same time. She then giggled and said, "Wanna stay forever Mommy."

Laughing softly behind her hand at the way her sister had said forever, Julia said, "I wish I could do the same but where would we live?"

Eliza looked a little stumped at that and then glanced at Alexis, looking to her to answer.

"Well there is a children's zoo," the young woman said, pretending to think about that. "So maybe you should stay there, they'll make you an exhibit and you can stay."

"Not me, you too," Eliza said.

"If you want us to be with you," Beckett told her quickly as Castle was coming back with their food. "I would suggest you come with us okay?" When Eliza nodded she got her chicken ready and she helped her eat while she ate her own salad.

"Feels nice to sit," Castle commented after some time had passed.

"There's a lot more Daddy," Julia hurriedly told him before she then giggled. "Did you see the map?"

"I did and all I can say is thank goodness there's the Skyfari to get to the other side," Castle replied.

"More so because there it gets a bit hilly," Mary said, having heard him.

"It does?" Julia asked.

"It does," Alexis said, grimacing. When her sisters looked at her in slight shock she couldn't help laugh briefly and told them, "Gram didn't want to take the Skyfari, so we needed to walk… up hills."

Eliza laughed at her sister's expression and then looked up at her mother asking, "Can we go?"

"We'll try and go through as much of the zoo as we can," Beckett assured her.

"We'll go through it all," Skye said then as they were cleaning up their table, having finished. "Don't worry. But now you'll be seeing something I think your parents told me you haven't before Julia, Eliza."

"An animal?" Julia asked. When Skye nodded she went to the woman with Eliza and they walked with her down the street that the restaurant was on until they reached a sign. "Panda Trek! They have pandas Lizzy, remember?" she cried out as she read, taking her little sister's hand.

"I wanna see," Eliza said firmly. She laughed when her mother was picking her up then and they walked under the sign as she told her, "Thank you Mommy."

"You're welcome," Beckett replied easily before they reached some animals that weren't pandas. She spotted one in a tree and pointed it out to the toddler saying, "See that sweetie."

Waiting for her mother to take a picture with one hand Eliza asked, "What is it?"

"A red panda," Castle said, reading a plaque on the railing. "But they're not pandas…"

"Then what are they like?" Julia asked, standing with them.

"Their own family," Castle read. "And the Chinese called them fire foxes."

Smiling at their daughters as they both said, "Ooh," in delight at the name, Beckett led them down the path again until they came to the panda's habitat. "There's one right here," she said, quickly pointing it out as the animal was lying on its back.

"It's eating," Julia whispered in amazement. "Isn't it pretty?"

Eliza's mouth was open in shock as she watched the bear biting noisily into the plant it held and when she finally could she asked, "What does it eat?"

"Bamboo but you can hear how hard it is huh?" Castle asked her. When Eliza nodded rapidly he kissed her cheek before they made their way down to the second half of the habitat where another panda was sitting up and eating more bamboo. When they'd left he called to Skye in Irish before he took Beckett by the elbow over to a gift shop that had been next to where they'd sat for lunch. "Okay to commemorate the first time you two got to see a panda…" he told them before he picked up two stuffed panda bears.

Eliza reached out eagerly for the toy but Julia was a little slower, asking, "Is this our one thing to pick? 'Cause I can buy it with my money."

"I'll be getting it," Alexis told them, taking the toys with a smile. She then walked over to the registers without another word, hearing her sisters calling their thanks to her as she went.

From the gift shop the McDouglases led the others up two escalators before they were entering a large aviary. Julia and Alexis walked with the family ahead of them while Castle and Beckett brought up the rear with Eliza on the former's shoulders.

"Is she asleep?" Castle asked as he realized the weight of the toddler was heavier than normal.

Nodding Beckett said, "Should we keep going?"

"We've done it before," Castle replied easily. "Or are you asking if we should wake her up because she's missing the birds?" When his wife just glanced at him he quickly said, "Then yeah, let's go." He watched her take pictures of the birds that they managed to see and when they went back to another aviary he could tell that Eliza was still fast asleep. "Though you can't help but feel bad at what she's missing," he told Beckett as they were passing different kinds of primates from the second aviary.

"What about the Skyfari?" she asked him then.

"How far until we get to it?" Castle asked Skye and Mary.

"We can stop here at the flamingoes to let her sleep," the latter told them.

"We can let you guys-" Beckett began to say.

"Mommy?" Eliza said sleepily then.

"Morning Lizzy!" Julia exclaimed, not surprised when Alexis echoed her.

"Hey sweetie," Beckett said as she then took her from her husband. She kissed the toddler's temple and murmured to her, "Want to sleep anymore?"

"Birdies! Pink birdies!" Eliza gasped as she saw the flamingoes. "Wanna see Mommy."

"I think that answered your question," Castle told her.

Beckett merely smiled at him before they went to the railing to watch the birds until Skye called them to go to the aerial tram.

"How are we going to ride?" Castle asked as they got in line for it and he saw the people going by from the station.

"We usually go with our daughters," Skye replied.

"I can take Julia," Alexis told them.

"Who do you want to go with?" Castle asked the toddler who was looking up at them.

When Eliza pointed to her and Castle, Beckett took her hat off since they were in the shade by then and she put her hand on her back as she'd leaned against her. "Sure you're not tired still?" she asked the toddler.

"No Mommy," Eliza said firmly before she looked at Alexis. "Can I have my panda?"

"Please," Castle whispered to her quickly.

"Please?" Eliza said, giggling shyly before she smiled at her big sister.

"Yes you can," Alexis told her, handing her the toy. "But don't let him fall out of the bucket."

Looking over at the vehicle for the ride Eliza shook her head and hugged it tightly to her before leaning against her mother again. She tried to hold her arm up to her when they were close to getting on but before she could do that all the way Beckett was taking her and putting her on her hip as they were gestured onto a bucket after Julia and Alexis had gone, waving to them.

When they were on their way themselves Beckett watched Eliza as Castle had her on his lap and she looked ahead of them saying, "Are you as surprised as I am?"

"A little but I'm sure she's taking pictures right now," he replied as he knew what she was talking about.

"Daddy, plane," Eliza said.

Turning since she was facing the opposite direction Beckett watched the Southwest plane coming in for a landing and then told them, "You get a great view of the city landing there."

"Except for the buildings," Castle said. "The pandas are over there sweetheart," he said as he recognized a building then. "And where we ate lunch." He heard the sound of Beckett's camera going off but then looked to the left as she was aiming it in that direction. "That's where we were yesterday," he then told Eliza who was looking around as much as she could.

Nodding when she saw the building, the toddler then saw they were getting down to the ground and asked, "Do we land now?"

"No we just stop to get off," Castle said in amusement.

"There are your sisters," Beckett commented as they passed the two who were waiting with the McDouglases at the exit. When they'd gotten out of the bucket she said to Eliza, "Are you wondering what we're going to see now?"

"Yeah… more bears," the toddler said eagerly, holding up her panda bear.

"Not those," Alexis said, holding her hands out before Eliza shook her head. She then held hands with her as their father did on the other side of the toddler and together they swung Eliza up in the air to her cries of joy as they walked to the right from the exit.

"There's lots more to see there too," Kathleen said to the others, walking backwards until Mary turned her around. "And another aviary too!"

"Do you still have space on your camera?" Beckett asked Julia, holding her hand as they came to the entrance of the Polar Bear Plunge.

"A lot and I brought another card, just in case," the little girl said with a nod. When they entered a building she saw that the glass showed an underwater view before she and her little sister nearly gasped at the same time when a polar bear swam by before going up onto the ground of the habitat. "Did you see?" she asked Eliza.

Nodding, the toddler let her father pick her up before he went over to the glass so she could watch as another bear swam by. She watched the water running over its fur and then giggled saying, "It goes swimming Daddy."

"It's going swimming," Castle corrected. He then smiled and said, "But you're right, it is."

"Time for a break," Skye commented as Beckett turned to see her sit down on a bench behind the glass. She smiled when her friend joined her after taking some pictures and told her, "Better to sit for a bit and get some rest for over there, since it's a level view of the habitat. They'll likely want to stay for a while. So how are you enjoying this?"

"You heard Rick," Beckett told him. "I do like animals."

"Your love of horses, of course," Skye said. "It's just I've never seen you like this."

"A mother?" Beckett asked. "Taking my kids around?"

"As you said," Skye said. She then laughed and shook her head saying, "No I guess I'm forgetting the last summer. But I'm glad that you're having fun."

"I could say the same about you," Beckett then said. When the investigator looked at her she nodded and said, "But in the end…"

"We need to go," Skye finished as her twins rushed up to them. She stood and took their hands as they all went over to the next viewing area.

When they reached it Beckett could see what the investigator had meant as one of the polar bears was close to the glass. She helped Eliza get near before taking a few pictures and let her remain there for a little until she scooped her up. "Do you know what I heard is over here?" she asked to try and distract the toddler before she could protest.

"What?" Eliza asked, forgetting what she'd wanted to tell her mother about remaining there longer.

"Reindeer," Castle said, pointing at the animals in their habitat.

Eliza peered over at where her father was pointing and then smiled widely when she saw them. "Wow," she said, looking at Castle.

"I know and to think they can fly," he said, smirking at his wife. Laughing slightly when she hit him with the back of her hand he said, "But they're pretty big."

"Can you go on like horsies?" Eliza asked.

"They're wild," Julia said, standing with them; as was Alexis while the McDouglases went ahead of them. "I don't think they would want you to. Right Mommy?"

"No," Beckett said. "Though you're welcome to try Rick."

"No!" Eliza cried in shock.

"She's kidding," Castle told her, smiling as he took her from his wife. As she was settling on his hip he kissed Beckett, carefully, but lingered a little more than he'd planned before they parted. Looking into her eyes he then coughed slightly before telling the girls, "Should we keep going?"

"I think we need to," Beckett told him. She was startled then as Eliza started to kick her legs and continued to do so until Castle had set her down. She watched her go with her sisters ahead of them and then looked to her husband when his hand gently took hers. Smiling at him she said, "There's more ahead."

"Are you scolding me for that kiss?" Castle asked jokingly. He wasn't surprised when Beckett shook her head and then put her arm around his back. He was quick to wrap his around her shoulders and then turned his attention ahead of them to their family and friends before he said, "I guess they got their chance."

Following the direction of his gaze Beckett saw what he was looking at which was Skye and Mary who were going over to the exit. "I guess so," she told him. "We should help Alexis out," she then added. "Four kids can be a handful."

"That's very true," Castle said, recalling when Julia had had sleepovers in the past. He walked with his wife to Alexis where they let go of each other and stayed with the girls until they'd walked through the entire aviary. He saw that Skye and Mary had made their way to the deer like animals across from the exhibit they'd just walked out of. "So, Kate and I were just saying-" he began.

"Yes, we know," Mary said quickly, interrupting him. "We had a chance. Thank you by the way."

"Thank Alexis, your original baby sitter," Beckett replied. When the women tried to do so but her stepdaughter assured them she understood they were grateful they moved on through the animals there before they ended up at some zebras which Julia and Eliza watched eagerly.

"Before you guys ask," Alexis said to her sisters. "No you can't ride those either."

To the laughter of all four girls the group went down a hill then, Eliza being grabbed by her father and swung up on his shoulders. When they reached the bottom they went to a pond that had numerous birds, including flamingoes in it, separating then as Mary and Skye took their girls to get some water for them.

"Eliza," Alexis said, feeling the toddler let go of her hand. "Hey, come back," she said, seeing the she was going to a lavender plant across from them.

"Wait, Lizzy, there are bees," Julia said, rushing over to her and hugging her to stop her.

"Let go, I wanna see!" Eliza protested.

"Yeah but you might get stung, remember when I did?" Julia reminded her. "And I was crying 'cause it hurt a lot and Daddy had to get the stinger."

"She's right, I've been stung too," Castle said, coming over to them. "You do not want to go through the same thing sweetheart. But…"

"Castle," Beckett said quickly as he plucked a stem of the flowering plant.

"I'm okay," he said, going back to her with their youngest on his hip. "Oh, you mean me picking it." When his wife just gave him a look he replied, "Sorry but it's just the one."

"Smell Mommy," Eliza said hurriedly, thinking her mother was getting mad.

Sighing as she couldn't really say no in that moment to the toddler, Beckett took the sprig and smelled it before handing it to Julia. "It is nice but really Rick…" she told him before trailing off.

"I'll be on my best behavior," Castle said, saluting before he realized Eliza was staring at him with a perplexed expression on her face. "Not believable?"

"Not in the slightest," Skye called. "Why are we trying to get him to listen to you Kate?" When Alexis flashed the lavender towards her she nodded and said, "That would make sense, best hide that."

After the investigator had handed them all bottles of water they followed her and Julia back towards the pandas before they made a right and came to an underwater view of a habitat. Since there was nothing to see in the water they moved to the view above the habitat on either side of the bridge they were on, the twins calling their attention to the primates and otters to their right.

"Oh look, they're swimming right there," Julia said as she and her sister looked down with their mother.

"Wanna go pet and see," Eliza said before she giggled.

Kissing the side of her head Beckett told her, "You're learning too much from your daddy."

"I don't know, makes it more interesting raising… her," Castle started to say before he trailed off slowly. "Oh, not the right thing to say was it."

"Not really," Beckett said, fighting her smile the best she could.

"I will be a good girl Mommy," Eliza said, tugging her blouse and sounding worried.

Not fighting it then Beckett let her amusement show as she nuzzled her daughter's nose with her own telling her, "I know you try and so does he. Just make sure you listen to us okay?"

"Kay," Eliza replied. She pointed to the plants that were to their left as they were leaving the habitat and asked, "The pandas Mommy?"

"That is bamboo," Castle replied for his wife, reaching down for her free hand and squeezing it. When she squeezed back he felt a surge of relief and then said, "But not the same kind, this one probably isn't as crunchy."

With the girls giggling the group headed to the hippo habitat and there Eliza was allowed to follow one of the animals as it made its way across through the water along the glass. The adults sat down, watching Alexis following the four girls and taking pictures of them with her camera.

"You mom texted," Beckett said, since she was using Castle's phone to take a picture of their daughters. " _Richard you know you don't need to call_ … wait, why is your mom texting?" she started to read before she realized the fact that her mother in law was supposed to be upstate still.

"I guess she came back sooner," Castle said.

"Okay well she said that you don't need to call because _you are obviously having a wonderful time with the girls. Give them my love and tell them I can't wait to see them again_ ," Beckett read.

"I'll have to… are you texting?" he asked his wife as he saw her fingers moving along the screen. "Hey, give-" Castle said, trying to take it from her before she pulled it out of his grasp.

" _Having a wonderful time, the girls love it and send their love_ ," Beckett read when she'd finished. " _See you back home._ Good?"

"Yes," Castle said hesitantly before he saw she'd sent it along with the picture of the girls she'd taken.

"We better continue," Mary said, standing with a smile at the exchange between the two. "We still have more of course and it's nearly three."

"Oh you're right," Castle said, looking at his watch.

Gathering their daughters proved to be easy as Skye tempted Eliza and Julia with an animal they were going to need to see to believe. They followed her and held her hands as the twins hurried in front of them, Castle and Beckett watching.

"She's a good mother," Alexis murmured, looking back at her dad and stepmother.

"She is," Mary said, since she was walking with the young woman.

"Look! 'lexis look, Mommy, Daddy look, look!" Eliza cried when she saw the animal they were coming to next. "Zebra legs!"

"Those are okapi," Castle said. "Look at their heads, what do they look like?"

"Giraffes," Julia answered. She then laughed and said, "Ew, look at the tongue."

"Like a giraffe," Beckett commented.

"The baby one is cute," Alexis said, since there was a small one.

Going down the path from that brought the group to the tigers and after looking at a bird with a very long tail in the habitat next to it they came to the viewing area for the animal.

"Bad memories?" Skye asked Castle and Beckett since the two had remained behind, letting Alexis take the girls up to the glass.

"No too many people there," Castle said. He was about to open his mouth when a strange noise reached them. He looked over at the bird they'd seen and said, "Is that coming from it?"

"It is," Mary said, trying not to laugh. "Mating season?"

"Who knows," Beckett said, startled at the sound. She then had her attention taken by the girls who both ran to her, grabbing her hands and trying to talk to her at the same time. Once she had been able to calm them down she got them to tell her one at a time what they'd seen and was startled when; as they continued on the trail; Eliza asked her a question.

"Jules says a tiger jumps at you," the toddler began. "Did it bite?"

"Did you tell her the story of us handcuffed together?" Castle asked, looking at the little girl.

"It slipped out but I just said that you were together and you saw a tiger jumping," Julia protested though she was trying to fight her smile.

"We did," Beckett said since she was carrying the toddler. "And the tiger did not bite us but it was hungry. It's why these animals aren't pets."

"Oh," Eliza said softly. She then said, "Did Daddy get scared."

"Very much," Castle said, ruffling the toddler's hair through her hat as she giggled at his tone. "But in the end we were rescued by your uncles so things turned out alright."

When they'd made their way to some tapirs Eliza went with her sisters to get a better look at them, loving the way their noses looked. She was then surprised when they walked by numerous primates but the sight of them enthralled her, especially the orangutans since one was leaning against the viewing glass. She stared through the glass at it and giggled when it looked to her, waving at it before she moved for her sisters to get a closer look at it.

"Its eyes are just like ours," Julia said. "That's so cool."

"I know," Alexis said, taking a picture. She then got her sister to move out of the way with her so the twins could have a turn. She looked over at Eliza then and said, "So I guess she picked that up from all the primates we're seeing?" as the toddler was on their father's shoulders, rubbing at his hair with one hand and his hat in the other; which she knew was her mimicking the grooming they'd seen some primates do.

"She's very smart," Castle said before he felt his wife stop her.

"I don't think your daddy will appreciate you messing up his hair too much," Beckett said in amusement. After walking back the way they'd come she was surprised when they were back at the entrance and she asked, "Are we finished?"

"Not by a long shot," Skye replied. "One more section and one more ride on the Skyfari before we head to those gift shops."

"I don't want to leave yet," Julia complained.

"Neither do we," Skye assured her since she was walking next to her. "But luckily we'll manage to see the entire zoo."

"Will we?" Julia asked. When the woman nodded she said, "Thank you."

"You're very welcome," Skye said. "Always fun to get a chance to come here. And we're here; I was told you might enjoy these Julia."

Looking ahead as she wondered what the woman was talking about, the little girl gasped in joy at the meerkats and she rushed to the railing with her camera. She took as many pictures as she could of the animals, loving the way they stood to look around. When she glanced over to her right she smiled as she saw her mother was next to her, snapping away with her camera. "I can't wait to see your pictures Mommy," she told her earnestly.

Leaning down to press a kiss to Julia's forehead, Beckett told her, "Yours too sweetie."

After staying there at the meerkats for a while the group headed quickly over to the area that was called Elephant Odyssey. Eliza was carried through, as Castle and Beckett both knew they'd have a hard time getting their daughter to leave each animal, and luckily she seemed happy on her father's hip.

"They have no hairs," the toddler was saying about some California condors.

"I know, wait for it to fly though and watch how wide its wings spread," Beckett told her.

When the bird had done so and swooped down Eliza's mouth dropped open in shock and she clapped her hands saying, "Big birdies!"

Walking through the next group of animals Julia soon saw the animals the section was named after and she looked at her little sister to see her reaction to the elephants that were eating and walking around the large habitat. She soon heard it and laughed at the cries of delight and she started to take pictures quickly before they were going to continue.

"Can I play with them?" Eliza asked hopefully when they were walking.

"I wish I could too but they're too big to play," Marie told her.

"I think some people ride them," Kathleen said.

"People in India did," Julia pointed out. She was going to continue along that line when she looked to their left and said, "Look at the bird!"

"That's a secretary bird," Skye told them as they gathered at the glass to look at the tall bird with feathers sticking out at the back of his head. "The girls always are enthralled by this one."

"That's because it's so tall," Kathleen replied.

Letting them stay there for a little while longer Skye and Mary eventually got their twins and with Beckett ushering Julia with them they continued, coming to where some zoo employees were working on filing down an elephant's nails while people were watching. They remained there for longer than they had at the bird as all four girls were fascinated by the sight of the elephant allowing the others to work on their nails.

"They're going to have a great time talking about their summer vacations when they go back to school," Alexis said when they were walking away from the elephant habitat.

"Won't you too?" Julia asked her.

Smiling Alexis put her arm around her sister and said, "No I'll have different classes so I won't tell the whole class but I'll tell my friends. All about what I got to do with my sisters."

Beckett squeezed Castle's hand as they watched the two hug each other tightly before she said, "She's right though."

"I know the most interesting thing I had the first day of school was the fact that I nearly got carried away by a riptide in the Hamptons," Castle replied as they looked down at the capybaras in the habitat that they'd reached.

"I had a trip down the coast," Beckett replied. "Which is interesting but there were a lot of historical sites." She looked over at Eliza who was running to them then and picking her up said, "What is it?"

"Don't wanna walk Mommy," the toddler replied. She gasped briefly when her father took her and then set her on his shoulders as they reached some jaguars. She watched as they walked through a building briefly before they came out to lions around a small pond. She cried out and dug her fingers into his hair as they stopped to watch the animals. She giggled when Castle playfully scratched at her leg and then wriggled when they moved on.

Passing some mountain lions the group reached the Skyfari station and split up again to ride it back to the other end of the zoo. Once they were gathered Skye said to Julia, "We're not going to the gift shops just yet."

"Oh?" the little girl asked interestedly.

"The reptile house," Beckett said as they reached the building.

"I almost forgot it," Skye told them.

"I wish you had _grá_ ," Mary said, taking her wife's hand.

"Oh, wasn't expecting that," Castle murmured to Beckett.

Shaking her head; though smiling slightly; she took a picture of the first thing they came to, a large turtle under the water before they started to move on. Eventually though Beckett noticed that the investigator and her wife were slowing down behind them. She watched the two and smiled as she saw that Mary hadn't been kidding in her desire to not see the reptiles. "Is that what you were hoping I'd do?" she asked her husband when she turned to him and saw him watching her.

"Yeah," Castle said simply, having seen the way Mary was clinging to her wife and pressing her cheek to her shoulder. "But you do that other times so I guess it doesn't matter," he replied as they came around to where they started and soon got to a komodo dragon. He laughed slightly and said, "This is awesome."

"Big snake," Eliza said from Alexis' arms.

"That's a komodo dragon," Julia told her sister. "It's a reptile."

"Rep-tile," Eliza pronounced slowly, giggling after. When they walked back around the way they'd come, she said, "Why do we go back?"

"There's more stuff here," Marie said.

"A lot less scary I think," Castle said as Skye and Mary caught up with them, the latter not looking like she was terrified anymore.

"Very much so," Mary replied before they laughed.

Going to the next animals which were turtles, Chinese alligators and a Galapagos tortoise Julia told the twins about one of her friends at school who had a turtle and how it had been to hold it. "It's nice but I think I like Macca better," she finally said as they were walking back to the reptile house.

"We like our dogs more too," Kathleen said, her twin nodding in agreement quickly. "Now where Mommy, Mummy?"

"We've seen everything," Skye said, looking at the map. "And in time too so we can take a little gander at the shops." She glanced at Castle who was visibly fighting a smile and said, "Vocabulary?"

"Vocabulary," he nodded before Eliza and Julia rushed to him. "So it's okay if they come along with me?" he asked his wife as Alexis then joined them.

"Yes but remember girls, one thing each and we will buy you one t-shirt," Beckett told them though they knew already.

After telling the McDouglases they'd meet them at the exit to the zoo at the end of the row of shops Alexis led them into one. They split up there until Beckett was joined by her husband and their daughters while she was looking at a book she thought her father might like.

"Yes?" she asked them teasingly. She was surprised they'd found items already and after inquiring to make sure that they were certain about their choices she looked them over. "This will be nice for your bath," she said to Eliza's choice of animal figurines.

"They will swim," the toddler said with a wide smile.

"And a kit to make wood animals," Beckett said, seeing the wood was like a jigsaw puzzle, though it would be three dimensional and not flat. "Okay did you look at the shirts too?"

"I reminded them and they want these," Castle said, holding them up to her.

"Koalafornia," Beckett said, smiling as both shirts had a koala in the place of the bear on the California flag, the word under a red bar which was also like the state flag.

"Daddy said that's what the place where the koalas were was called," Julia told her.

"He's right, you're sure about the colors?" Beckett asked, since both were white. When the girls and Castle nodded she laughed softly and then cupped his chin saying, "You don't have any input in this love."

"Too bad," Castle said, knowing she was teasing. He took the book she held and then went to pay as the girls took their mother's hands and walked over to the postcards to wait for him. "Hey Alexis," he said when she reached him. "Find anything?"

"This," the young woman said, holding up a glass model of a polar bear. "I know Diana will love it for her room at our flat."

"My daughter's going to be a Britisher," Castle said with a smile as he then waited for her to pay.

"Sort of," Alexis said. "And not yet, let's go because I'm starving."

"They are too," Beckett said, having heard the two talking and wondering what her husband's reaction was going to be at the reminder about Oxford. She was relieved when he seemed to be fine and they went out to where the McDouglases were already waiting for them.

Back at their cards, Mary said, "You'll follow us; we're heading to Point Loma now."

"The lighthouse?" Castle asked; that place in the hauntings book he'd bought the day before.

"No, you'll see when we get there," Skye said before they started to load their kids into their cars.

Driving that time, Castle was a little surprised when they went on the 5 freeway instead of the 163 when they'd gone to the park. He looked at Alexis who shrugged and thought he remembered her mentioning the name Point Loma but couldn't recall completely. He followed Mary who was driving once she'd gotten off and was startled to see to their right a plane taking off.

"It's the airport," Beckett said, glancing at her husband and smiling at seeing his surprise.

"I wonder if that's why they chose to come this way," Castle said with a slight grin. "To show off."

"Show off what?" Alexis asked from the back.

"I think she's got you there," Beckett teased him.

Castle made a face at her, not surprised when the girls in the back laughed at that since they could see him from the side. Eventually they came to some buildings and he was a little surprised when there was a group of men with carts they were looking into, then saw the fish being carried by those men as they went to the parking lot.

"Look at all the boats," Julia said in awe as they parked at Point Loma Seafood where she and her sister immediately caught sight of the faux lighthouse in the front of the restaurant. "It's like at home."

"So they must be fishing," Alexis said. "This'll be fresh fish."

"Very," Castle said as he took Eliza from her. Meeting back up with the McDouglases he was surprised when Mary took the girls with the twins and went over to some stairs at the left of the building. "So… they know where they're going?"

"We eat at least once here when we come," Skye told him. "They'll save two tables. But I hope you know what your daughters want."

When they were looking at the menu Beckett said, "No kids' meal?"

"We get them the chicken tenders, they're fairly big and they'll have fries as well," Skye said before she stepped ahead to order.

"You weren't kidding about fresh," Castle said as Beckett went to a worker who was free to order. He was looking with Alexis at the display cases with different seafood and said, "You never came here?"

"I've never even heard of it until now but I have heard of Point Loma," the young woman replied. She then smiled and said, "It's been a great trip Dad."

"What makes you say that?" Castle asked, a little startled at her statement.

"No I'm just saying, I've enjoyed this," Alexis replied.

"You'll enjoy our view when we eat," Skye said. "Drinks are back here."

"Bye," Castle said, waving.

"Hey, go follow her," Beckett said, handing him his cup with a smile as he jumped at her surprising him. "I'd like some tea."

"Of course," Castle said, brushing his lips against her cheek.

Alexis watched her father as they got the drinks for themselves and also the girls and Beckett before she said, "Should I wait with her."

"Why couldn't I?" Castle asked.

"And if you start making out with her?" Alexis responded.

"Where all those fish can see us?" Castle said in an exaggerated whisper. "Go join your sisters; I can kiss my wife properly later. I'll help her."

Smiling at the slight British twinge to his voice on the word properly, Alexis went to the door but paused, looking back at her father and stepmother. She saw the latter reach out to take his hand and whisper in his ear and she smiled when he laughed before leading Beckett to the display case. There was a thought that had been bothering her for a while but seeing moments like that made her a bit more secure. But that was all she could think on the matter as she was heading up the stairs.

"I don't know you would think she'd know me by now," Beckett was saying a few minutes later as they were getting their food; Skye and Mary heading back to their tables with their food. "I wouldn't just let you kiss me like that."

"Not in front of the fish anyway," Castle said.

"Leave the fish alone Rick," Beckett said, rolling her eyes though she wasn't annoyed at him using that phrase a second time.

"But what about the pool later?" Castle asked her as they were heading upstairs.

"We'll swim," Beckett told him simply before she headed to the table where Alexis was sitting on one side with her sisters. "Wow Julia, Alexis, did you two-" she started to say when she saw the view.

"Yeah, as soon as I got here," Julia assured her mother, holding up her camera. "Mommy, Daddy, you can see your hotel from here," she then pointed out as in the distance were the two buildings of the hotel as well as downtown Beckett was taking pictures of.

"This is amazing," Castle said to Skye and Mary.

"Partially why this is a great place to eat," Skye told him.

"Speaking of food we got you two some chicken," Castle said. "Easy on the fries and after we'll get some ice cream."

Trying not to laugh when her daughters turned their heads to her at the same time, Beckett nodded saying, "Since you two were well behaved."

"I know I was proud of you," Alexis told them as she gave them some ketchup after cutting up Eliza's strips for her.

When they'd begun eating Castle started to comment that his plate of calamari; ordered by him, Beckett and Alexis at Skye and Mary's suggestion; was great when he was interrupted by the twins crying out in pleasure.

"It's a sea lion," Marie called to Julia.

Looking down by a boat the little girl gasped and said, "It is, look!" as its head popped up.

"She's right, do you see it?" Alexis asked, holding Eliza as on the other side of the table Castle and Beckett were looking too.

"I see it… I wonder if this is where that sea lion took that huge fish out of that guy's hands," Castle speculated before they sat back down.

"That could have been anywhere," Beckett said. "But now you two know why they're here."

"Do they give them fish?" Julia asked Skye and Mary.

"When they're finished getting the catch off the boat," Mary answered. "They give something to them, not sure if it's chum or else some they hold back."

"Keep eating girls," Beckett said gently. "Speaking of which, you were going to say you ordered the right thing?"

"Oh yeah Skye, Mary," Castle said, wiping his mouth. "Thank you for the suggestion." He smiled when his wife and daughter thanked them too and said, "And the girls thank you too," since he could see Julia and Eliza were enjoying their food.

"Not a problem but next time you should give the tuna sandwich a try," Skye said. "It's quite good."

After that they were quiet, looking at the view and also some planes they could see taking off from the airport as they worked their way through their meals. When they had finished and had cleaned up they went down to a little shop with ice cream and other snacks where everyone got a cone before Skye and Mary led the way down to the boats.

"We didn't want to say we'd come while eating," Skye told Castle and Beckett as they watched their daughters watch for the sea lion to pop out of the water.

"Or else they would have never eaten," Mary said. "We learned that quickly."

Nodding Castle and Beckett soon turned to the water with the two women, waiting and hoping for their daughters' sakes the animal would return. Especially since Julia was standing as close as she could, her ice cream cone in one hand and her camera in her other, focused on the water.

It took a little more time but eventually the sea lion surfaced and the four girls tried not to exclaim at the sight of it, Julia hurriedly taking a few pictures before it slipped underwater and out of sight. Their parents took them back to the path where they'd walked to get ice cream and they went along the water together before they eventually split up into two groups.

"Well, she finished her ice cream," Castle said, stopped as were the rest of the family. He was cleaning off Eliza's mouth as she made protesting sounds and he apologized to her before picking her up. "We'll have to get you to bed a little early today," he said as she yawned widely.

"Too much walking," Beckett said, reaching over and squeezing the toddler's hand as they started to walk.

"But it was fun," Julia was quick to say.

"Yeah I'll agree with you on that," Castle said before Eliza gave his cheek a loud, smacking kiss. The others started to laugh and he did so as well before they continued on to where the McDouglases were standing, looking at the boats docked in front of them.

* * *

"Not so exuberant this time," Beckett said, walking into the girls' room at the Mission Bay house.

"We did a lot more than Wednesday," Castle replied as they were both keeping their voices low since Eliza was fast asleep already. He leaned over and whispered to the toddler, "Love you sweetheart," before he kissed her forehead.

Joining him Beckett leaned over and pressed her lips to their youngest's hair line and murmured against it, "I love you too Eliza, sweet dreams."

"Are we still going back to the park tomorrow?" Julia asked tiredly as her father held the bed sheet up for her to get onto the bed to the left of her little sister.

"We are and we'll be able to see a lot more," Castle replied, covering her. "I would take your kites but your mom and Alexis advised me we'd end up being like Charlie Brown getting the kites eaten by the trees there." He smiled when Julia giggled and then leaned down, sharing a kiss with her before he said, "I love you Julia, night."

"Love you too Daddy," the little girl said before her mother walked up to her. "Night Mommy," she said as Beckett tucked her in. "I love you too."

"I love you sweetie," Beckett replied before sharing a kiss with her. "Night."

"Night, we'll see you tomorrow morning," Alexis said in the doorway. She hugged her father and kissed his cheek before she hugged Beckett. "I'm glad you had a great time," she told her stepmother.

"That seems to be the consensus," Beckett replied, shaking her head. "See you tomorrow."

"So like we were saying," Skye said when she and Mary stepped outside into the front yard with Castle and Beckett. "Come between ten and ten thirty and we'll leave straight away."

"You're sure that'll be enough time?" Castle asked as he opened the passenger door for his wife.

"Of course," Mary replied. "We've done that before, spent the whole day at the park."

"Okay then we'll be here at ten," Beckett replied. "The girls are eager to go."

"They're just too tired to express it at the moment," Castle said in amusement. After he and Beckett had called goodnight to the women he drove them back to the hotel, reaching over for her hand and entwining their fingers tightly before she squeezed his hand gently. He glanced at her and though he couldn't exactly tell what she was thinking from her expression he had an inkling of what might be on her mind as he pulled onto the freeway.

* * *

Breaking the surface of the water Beckett looked up at her husband as he was walking over to the side of the pool where she was and she asked, "Did they give you the drinks?"

"Of course," Castle said before he dove into the deep end of the third floor pool that they had to themselves by then. When he surfaced he made his way to where his wife was holding onto the edge and said, "Everyone left?"

"They did," Beckett said with a smile. "Practically right after you went to the bar."

"Interesting… and that worked out great too," Castle said as he leaned over and kissed her briefly on the lips.

"Rick," Beckett said warningly.

"What do you think I'm going to do?" Castle asked.

Shaking her head Beckett ducked under the water and pushed off the wall before heading back to the shallow end. When she started to walk toward the stairs she wasn't too surprised to see her husband with her and she asked, "You're thirsty?"

"Somewhat," Castle replied. When she stopped on the bottom step he was a little surprised before she held him by the shoulders. Her kiss was a little less of a surprise and he responded to her the best he possibly could until they slowly parted, breathing a little hard. "Come back in the water," he told her.

"Not yet," Beckett said, looking into his eyes and having to struggle with himself for a moment. She leaned down and brushed her lips to his murmuring, "We'll come back."

"Yeah," Castle said, letting her take his hand so he followed her out and over to the lounge chairs they'd claimed for themselves. He picked up his glass and watched as Beckett took a sip from hers, tucking her legs underneath her. "Tired?" he asked as she leaned her head back.

Smiling Beckett replied, "Not really, are you?" When he stood up and then came around to her chair to sit on the edge she commented, "I would say that was a no too."

"How's the Coronado Colada?" Castle asked, sensing from her body language she wasn't quite ready to start what they had in the pool yet.

"Is that what it's called?" Beckett asked, slightly laughing. When her husband nodded she smiled and said, "Good," as at the same time she was taking the pineapple wedge from the glass. She bit it and then fed her husband the rest before he was leaning down. She was tempted to stop him, as they hadn't spent that much time in the pool, but as his tongue sought her own she couldn't resist him and when they pulled back she spoke, ending up saying at the same time as him, "We should come back with the girls."

"That idea ran through your mind?" Castle asked her. When Beckett nodded he said, "I called Skye and Mary; luckily didn't interrupt them; and asked how long they were planning to stay at the park. They want to go for sure to the science museum and the space museum-"

"Air and Space Museum Rick," Beckett interrupted him. "And the Japanese Garden. And we agreed those would be good ones for Julia and Eliza. So what did you tell them about here?"

"I reserved a cabana at three and we'll stay until seven," Castle told her.

"You're lucky I was thinking it would be nice to do the same. And we're having dinner up at that pool?" Beckett asked him, smiling.

"Yeah I figure, why not let Eliza swim," Castle told her. "And everyone has their things to swim."

"That'll be nice," Beckett replied, leaning over and kissing him. "So we're going earlier?"

"They suggested we come at nine-thirty instead so we can be at the Air and Space Museum when it opens," Castle replied.

"Then we should get back to swimming," Beckett replied, since by then they both had a sip left of their drinks. She had the last of hers and then stood, taking her towel from around her waist before her husband followed her to the deep end. She dove in and when she resurfaced, watched as Castle did the same before he swam straight to her. "Well," she said, her heart starting to beat heavily in her chest at the intense look in his eyes. "We'll swim tomorrow."

"We will but first…" Castle began to say as they were swimming to the other end of the pool to get out. He stopped her in the middle, ushering her against the side away from where anyone that stepped out could see them. Before she could protest he was kissing her hard and he slipped his tongue into her mouth before reaching down swiftly.

Beckett tried to pull away to protest that but her husband was holding her hard enough for her to realize that he wasn't about to let her go. His fingers were under the water, underneath the bottom of her bathing suit and were very soon on her clit. She closed her eyes tightly as she could feel Castle rubbing at her, making her moan into his mouth. A short time after that he pulled away from her, his fingers still rubbing consistently at her. "Rick… what if…" she breathed.

It was then Castle realized that she was right and though he didn't want to he pulled his hand from her in time for a couple to walk outside from the hotel. He looked at Beckett and without a word spoken between them they parted and got out to get their towels. He glanced at his wife as the man and woman walked into the water hand in hand and after they had gone to rinse off said, "I'll meet you at the elevator okay?"

Beckett was surprised when he left but let him go, watching him head inside before she put the towel around her waist again. She went inside to the elevators and over to the window that was near them, looking out on the bay and the city. She heard her husband walking up to her some time later but didn't turn around when he put his hand on the small of her back. She closed her eyes slightly when he kissed the junction of her neck and shoulder and then turned to him, wrapping her arms around his neck. They kissed then before he pulled away from her shortly after and she looked into his eyes before seeing that he had another piña colada in his hand. She couldn't help but smile and said, "You're getting me drunk tonight?"

"No this is for me," Castle said. He wasn't surprised when she looked at him with one eyebrow raised and told her, "Let me show you what I mean."

Her reply to that was a simple nod and Beckett slipped her hand into her husband's before they went into the first elevator that reached them. On their floor they walked as quickly as they could to their room and the second they were inside she was pushed back against the door, her husband's lips taking hers hard. She responded immediately as she'd been expecting it but that made it no less enjoyable since they were both rough with one another. When they eventually parted, breathing hard, she smiled and said, "I'm still not getting why you got another drink. Unless you just wanted to try it out."

Castle shook his head and then grabbed his wife's hand, pulling her into the room further where he set the glass he still held down on the nightstand on his side of the bed. He stopped her from walking past him then and turned her so she was facing him before he searched her eyes.

"What?" Beckett asked in surprise at his look.

"I want to check out the view," Castle told her simply. He wasn't surprised at her slight expression of confusion before he was leading her to the desk. He pushed her ahead of him and then pressed close against her from behind. He saw that she quickly understood what he wanted when she leaned over, her hands in the middle of the desktop but leaving space between herself and the edge of the desk. "I would have continued this downstairs if we hadn't been interrupted," he informed her.

"I know and there's a part of me that wanted you to do that," Beckett said, nearly holding her breath at the same time as his hand slid underneath her bathing suit again. She spread her legs a little and then moaned as loud as she wanted to when he found her clit easily and began to rub back and forth which moved the swollen nub hard. "Wait… I have too much on," she said after a few minutes of him doing that.

"I know," Castle said, moving his hand away from her. He untied the top of her bikini and then let her take it off herself as she turned to him. He licked his lower lip, his eyes drawn to her breasts as she leaned back against the desk. "You're sure," he stated, forcing himself to look up into her eyes.

Beckett smiled at his caution and while she was touched at his concern of what she wanted she was a little impatient. Reaching down for his hands she brought them up to her mounds covering them with his palms. His expression seemed to instantly change and while she watched him he began to stroke her. It was a bit of a shock when he did so very gently and carefully, making her bite at her lower lip. She was expecting him to lean down to take her breasts with his mouth but instead he let her go after brushing his lips against hers. She wasn't sure what he had planned but he then had her turn back around and it wasn't long before his hand was below her bikini and was at her clit yet again.

Watching his wife very closely Castle went a little faster than was his wont though he wasn't sure what the reason was exactly. Though when he was later holding her back against his chest instead of letting her remain leaning over, he wondered if it was because he hadn't been able to continue down at the pool. He didn't have much of a chance to think that through as all of a sudden her back snapped back against him and she cried out his name once. He had to try to keep a good grip on her as her body had begun to jerk back and forth and he needed to prevent her from falling to the ground. He was able to do that, feeling his body let him know that he wasn't immune feeling her go through her pleasure. When she had relaxed against him he moved to pick her up in his arms and took her to the bed, laying her down in the middle of it before he undressed her and himself; not needing to take much time for that.

When Beckett felt the bed moving in response to him joining her she was suddenly moaning in pleasure as something wet and cold dripped in between her breasts. Opening her eyes she suddenly remembered the drink he'd gotten and she smiled saying, "You weren't kidding."

Shaking his head Castle handed her the glass for her to drink before he moved to lick up the liquid that had begun to melt against her skin. At his wife's moan when his tongue touched her he sped up a little, soon leaving her flesh clean and him reaching for the glass.

The two worked together and very soon the drink was gone, Castle lying on his side next to Beckett as he studied his wife closely. When she turned her head to him, cupping his cheek at the same time, they leaned into each other and kissed deeply as they could sense they were equally aroused from what he'd been doing to her.

After they'd parted Beckett smirked for the briefest moment before telling him, "I'm all sticky again."

"Oh… true," Castle said, getting up. He hurried to wet a washcloth in the bathroom before he went back to her and started to clean where he'd taken the drink off of her skin. When he was sure she was set he sat up on his knees, putting his hands on Beckett's ass as she was swift to straddle his lap getting on her knees once she was set. There was a slight fumbling of fingers as they worked together to slip his erection inside her but soon he was there, deep within her as they both sighed in relief and pleasure. "I love you Kate," he said seriously, the second they both started to move towards each other.

"I love you too Rick," Beckett gasped as they were beginning to thrust a little harder together. She wrapped her arms around him tightly as he pressed on the small of her back and she kissed him that time, slipping her tongue between his lips as he rushed to respond to her. They were soon tilting their heads back and forth, all the while making their rhythm quicker and harder. When they'd finally pulled away from each other their hips were slapping hard and she closed her eyes tightly again as she reveled in the sound of it and the bed below them that had reached her ears. She leaned back slightly, not surprised when her husband was hurriedly reaching up and beginning to cup her breasts with his hands. When he squeezed gently she gasped and leaned her head down to get a better view of him as he quickly took her left nipple with his mouth.

Castle could feel what his wife was going through as her movement against him seemed to double and he continued what he was doing at her breast before going to the other to repeat the same action. He was responding to her thrusts and going faster until she broke his concentration on her as she pulled away from him and so much so that when he came back to himself she was laying back in the middle of the bed, pulling on his hand. "You…" he began before he realized what he was saying. "Never mind."

"What were you going to say?" Beckett asked. But she didn't get an answer, at least not right away, as her husband was abruptly slamming into her body and she was nearly screaming in response to it. It also nearly made her forget what she'd planned to do before he started to move again within her and she was so busy trying to match him once more that it took her a little longer to repeat her question.

"I didn't think…" Castle was breathing roughly and had to take a deep breath. "I wasn't sure you wanted to relinquish to me yet."

"Who… who said I was?" Beckett shot back instantly. She faltered a little at the beginning as the sensation of the friction between her and her husband affected her and her entire body. When he didn't reply to that she simply made him stop moving and instead began to work the muscles of her sex around him, watching his reaction instantly spread across his face.

"Ah… okay, you…" Castle began to say when she stopped. "Okay… so you're not but what the hell do you want?"

Beckett studied him then at his tone, as she realized why it was as strained as it was, and she told him simply, "What do you want?"

A little startled by that Castle took a mere second to seem to think that over before he was withdrawing from her and making her get up. When he felt her move easily at his touch he wanted to comment on how it seemed he was taking over but decided it wasn't worth it as Beckett was pushing against the headboard at his direction. When she was in exactly the position he wanted her he pressed up close against her back and with a careful press of his hands had them both moving together in perfect unison to help him slip back inside of her. As soon as he was coupled with her fully he proceeded to thrust and they were soon moving together as hard and fast as they'd done the previous two positions they'd been in. He closed his eyes tightly at the feel of her, still wet and tight around him, and he leaned down to start kissing at her shoulder furiously hearing her moan every time he did that. When she reached back to cup his head he hurried to move to meet her lips, slipping his tongue into her mouth and dueling it furiously as she responded in turn. He was literally dizzy, the taste of her mouth and the feel of her taking him within her was adding up in his body to the point where he knew he'd have to use one last switch of their position to draw things out a bit longer. But for the moment, as he moved his hands, he was more than happy to stay where he was.

Beckett was a little taken aback when her husband parted from her; though her lungs had been aching for air; and took her hands to place them on the headboard that reached up to the ceiling. She was breathing rougher than before as that gave him the leverage he needed to move harder. The resulting sensation was a repeated, hard warmth that was spreading through her entire body, making her breasts ache and her sex feel like it was the base of the inferno rushing inside of her. She took what he gave her before she finally couldn't take it anymore and moaned back to him, " _Touch me_ Rick _, I need to feel you touching me before you make me come_." There was a part of her that had to think she wasn't too stunned when he pulled from her and then laid her on her back, her legs soon nearly under his arms they were so high. She wondered if he hadn't meant to take her request seriously as the rising pleasure in her from their bodies slamming together then was taking her over again but she soon got her answer to her unasked question.

Reaching in between their bodies, though he ran the risk of having his hand crushed, Castle carefully proceeded to stimulate his wife's clit at the same time as he was moving within her. He didn't stop or hesitate, just wanting to get them both to their peak at the same time. He soon felt her nearing that point and he leaned over closer to her, kissing her passionately for as long as he dared before he was nearly ripping himself away from her. " _Come for me love, you promised me that and I want to feel you while I hear you screaming my name_ ," he nearly ordered her.

Though Beckett wanted to protest the quasi-command she was too far gone and the last she knew was her husband's fingers twisting her clit gently. Her back again snapped as she reached her orgasm and she pressed herself as hard as she could against the bed before she was crying out his name. She writhed beneath him before she was dimly aware of him joining her as he grabbed her right thigh tightly in his hand as if looking for an anchor as he repeated her name in a groan that was imbued with his pleasure. She felt the ecstasy of their shared climax and she had no idea how long it lasted before she was collapsing down on the bed, closing her eyes tightly while she took the last few of her husband's thrusts before he was nearly falling onto her.

Castle slowly pulled away from his wife once he felt that he was a little stronger and could support his own weight again, shuddering as she hadn't stopped stroking the back of his head and neck. "Love…" he began.

"There's all night," Beckett told him, not sure what had led to that but knowing what she'd said was true.

That was all the encouragement Castle needed and he began to kiss Beckett fervently, feeling her responding before they began to move together, their bodies taking over as they let everything else disappear until it was only them in that moment.

* * *

Leaning against the back of the couch Beckett murmured, "I'll be sad to leave tomorrow," as by then it was very early Friday morning. Though they weren't facing it they were waiting for the sky to lighten with the coming sunrise together, slightly more dressed than they'd been so far that night. She smiled a little as she recalled what they'd been up to since then as they'd been together, sleeping an hour before waking up and coming together yet again before sleeping and then repeating the same cycle before waking up just before that moment.

"Me too but the trip has been amazing," Castle said. "I think it's up," he commented when he noticed the sky was a brighter color. He glanced at his wife who was at that moment looking pointedly down at his groin and he said, "That's not what I meant." He was a little startled when she leaned over and kissed him in response but he was quick to reply in the same manner before they were slowly parting. Breathing hard he followed her to the bed, his shirt on her and his pajama pants discarded back on the couch before they were coming together on the bed at her direction.

Their lovemaking was rough and a little fast but neither cared as it led them to the same pleasurable conclusion. It also left them panting for air and laying with Beckett curled up in Castle's arms once they'd parted some time later.

"You can't tell me no one's left you like this," he said, as he knew how much out of his wife he'd taken with his hunger for her.

"Not even close," Beckett breathed. "And not taking the time to make absolutely sure I was satisfied."

"It's a challenge," Castle said, though he'd told her that before. He leaned down and nuzzled her temple with his lips telling her, "And one I take it on myself to make sure I accomplish every time."

"That might be a reason why we still want each other," Beckett said, looking up at him with a smile. "I want to do the same for you. But a little differently."

"By teasing the hell out of me?" Castle asked. When she merely began to smirk he groaned saying, "You're going to kill me Kate."

"I don't think so, I need you around for some… things," Beckett replied, smirking fully at him with that. She couldn't help laugh softly when he shuddered hard against her and she then turned over so she was facing him, kissing him deeply as he hurried to respond. "We have one more day," she then told him, knowing they needed to bring their attention back to their trip.

Castle merely nodded and then sat up to get the bed sheet at the end of the bed to pull over their bodies. He held Beckett to his side as she pressed her cheek against his shoulder and murmured to her in Irish.

Smiling as he'd said he loved her, Beckett said the same in that language too before she leaned up and brushed her lips to his. "Sweet dreams love," she told him.

"Yeah I'll be having those," Castle said jokingly. He then became serious and turning to her said, "You too Kate."

With a final, brief kiss the two settled down to get a little more rest before they needed to get up to go through the city one last time. As they were trying to fall asleep their minds went to their family and their vacation, both of them thinking how it had been a success and a complete delight unexpected as it was. But when they began to nod off at nearly the same time their thoughts inexorably went back to each other. And it was for that reason their rest was both deep and peaceful while the sun continued its slow ascent into the sky outside and their minds were calmed by the reminder of their pleasure they'd found with one another that night.


	20. Epilogue- I Know That I Can Love You

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The title of this chapter is a lyric from the song Learning How to Love You by George Harrison, from his album Thirty Three &1/3.

"Rick?"

Looking up from where he was placing a shirt into his suitcase Castle called, "Yeah? Did you decide to come and pack with me?"

"No," Beckett said as she walked into the room and then went straight over to him. "Look."

Seeing she was holding out a rosary with rich wood beads Castle said, "It's beautiful," as he could tell it'd been handmade.

"This is even more so," Beckett replied, showing him the cross that was at the end of it.

Running his thumb over the Celtic knot carved into it Castle asked her, "Where did you get this?"

"Remember when we were leaving to go out to LAX my father said he had some letters that he'd found with my mom's things?" Beckett asked him.

"Yeah you got them now?" Castle asked.

"I was looking for the USB with my pictures to show our parents tonight," Beckett replied. "And they were there next to my computer. And this is my great-great-great grandmother Líle's rosary. Líle McCollough."

"Oh, your mom's side, yeah that would explain why she had it," Castle replied. He then said, "The Famine?"

Shaking her head, Beckett told him, "A while after that in 1860. Looking at the letters they were apparently going to America when her sister, my great-great-great-great aunt, got sent back at Castle Garden. And I went ahead to the last letter, it was a returned one."

"Really?" Castle asked.

"They lost touch," Beckett said.

Studying her then Castle handed back the rosary and asked, "You'd like to see if she has descendants that are family?"

"I would," Beckett replied.

"Then I can make some phone calls in Ireland," Castle said. "And hopefully by the time we get there from Spain they'll have something." He was a little startled when she wrapped her arms around him and asked, "What's that for?" though he was returning the hug quickly.

"I know what you're thinking right now," Beckett told him. "Tell those same contacts if they can locate Elizabeth O'Donovan in Donegal or Kerry."

Castle tensed for a moment before finally relaxing and nodding at her saying, "Yeah, I will."

"And you should tell them," Beckett said, something she'd wanted to tell him since they'd arrived at home the day before from California.

"No… I mean yes, I will just not now okay?" Castle asked. He was surprised when his wife took his hand and then looked at her, seeing she was smiling.

"You don't have to now," Beckett said. "Now I'd like us to go swim with the girls who are apparently calling for us according to my dad and your mom." She smiled a little wider when her husband was quick to nod in agreement and they headed down to the pool together where their family was waiting for them.

"There you are," Martha said when she saw her daughter in law and then son come into the pool area. "I thought you were still packing."

"I was," Castle said. "Kate came to get me." When Eliza came out of the pool he watched her to make sure she wouldn't start running and once she'd reached him he said, "So you two were calling for us?"

"We were," Julia called from where she was sitting on an inner tube that Alexis was pushing around the deep end as she swam.

Beckett picked up Eliza once she'd come over to her, holding her on her hip as she got her sarong off with one hand. "You're not swimming Dad?" she asked as he'd been planning to.

"I was but Eliza decided to stand here to wait for you," Jim said, smiling back at them. He stood and got out of the way of his daughter before he reached out to keep her from going down to the second step. "Is he alright?" he asked her.

Glancing at her husband Beckett saw with a little surprise that he was speaking to his mother and she then said, "Yeah it's just something that came up. Do you want to go with him the rest of the way sweetie?" She wasn't surprised when the toddler shook her head no but was a little frustrated as she realized they needed to tell their daughters about their grandfather as well. But Castle was walking over to them and she smiled before asking, "Taking the easy way in?"

"Why not," Castle said, smiling at Eliza who was reaching out to him and opening and closing her hand. He grabbed it and kissed it asking, "Want me to take you?"

"No, you and Mommy," Eliza told him firmly.

"Oh, I recognize that tone all too well," Castle said teasingly. "I hear that from your mom a lot."

Eliza glanced at her mother, who was rolling her eyes and she giggled before saying, "We can go?"

"We are right now," Beckett assured her. She heard the splashing of water then and looked down at the deep end where Julia was swimming with Alexis over to them. "Are you racing like you did back in San Diego?" she called as they neared.

"No we just wanted to join you," Alexis said once she and Julia stood. "I think she got taller," she said to her dad and stepmother, putting her arm around her sister's shoulders.

"Not that much," Julia protested, since she was still shorter than Alexis.

"No but you have grown," Castle said. "We might need to buy you some clothes in Paris."

"We were going to buy you and Eliza one item of clothing in the bigger cities we go to," Beckett said when Julia and Eliza both looked at her. "You understood that?" she asked the toddler.

"A dress?" Eliza said.

"Yeah for Christmas," Julia gasped. "Maybe one with plaid on it."

"That we can buy here," Beckett said. "We'll see what we can find once we go."

"Mommy could I get a shirt somewhere for Mari? Oh and Dawn too?" Julia asked.

"Of course," Beckett replied easily. "But for now who wants to help Eliza with her swimming?"

"I think you should ask her," Alexis said, a second later the toddler leaning over in her mother's arms towards her. "And I think she picked out me."

Watching the young woman hold her sister as she instructed her how to move her arms first, Beckett grabbed her husband's arm before he could start swimming and she wrapped her arms around him tightly.

"What?" Castle asked.

" _We need to tell the girls_ ," Beckett murmured into his ear.

" _I know and we will_ ," Castle said. He then turned to her fully and though her dad was right there behind them he pressed his lips to hers before he went to her ear and said, " _I'd like to tell him too after we tell the girls_."

Beckett pulled back from him in surprise but quickly saw that he was serious so she glanced over his shoulder to look at her father for a moment. " _Are you sure_?" she asked.

"Yeah," Castle said shortly. He then said, " _I want him to understand why it is I have no father. He has to wonder doesn't he_?"

Nodding her head slightly, Beckett kissed his cheek before Julia walked up to them and she asked, "Okay?"

"Yeah are you?" the little girl asked, having been able to tell her parents' display of affection was partially a distraction.

"Yep, come on I'll throw you over to the deep end," Castle said, trying to pick her up.

Stopping him before he could do that Julia said, "Why don't we play Marco Polo?"

"That's fine, Eliza and I can watch," Beckett said.

Julia was going to protest that, but then remembered something and said, "Why don't we wait until Mari comes with her sister and parents?"

"Okay then what do we do now?" Castle asked. He then hurried to say before Julia could answer, "I guess we'll just head out and-"

"No!" both Julia and Eliza cried out at the same time, making the others laugh. When they'd stopped Julia went to grab a beach ball and they hit it back and forth, Beckett helping Eliza as they played with Alexis against the other two.

While he was taking the ball from his mother after Alexis had hit it out of the pool, Castle asked her, "What time is it?"

"Nearly twelve," Martha replied. "They'll be here in an hour."

"I think we need to get out," Castle called to them once he'd turned back to the others.

"Is it time for lunch already?" Julia asked with a gasp. "Oh, they're going to come over soon!"

Castle took the little girl's hand and said, "Help me grab the sandwiches."

"Okay but can we get everything by ourselves?" Julia asked.

"I can help!" Eliza cried from where she was being dried off by her mother.

"I'd like you to stay with me sweetie," Beckett told her, kissing her temple. "Your grandpapa will go okay?" She wasn't surprised when Eliza started to protest but when she took her to sit on the chair next to Martha's she quickly told her, "Why don't you tell her about the planes we got to see yesterday?"

"That's right, your father told me about the restaurant that you could eat at right next to where they landed," Martha said with a smile to the toddler.

"They were there!" Eliza cried, taking the suggestion exuberantly. "And they flew and landed too!"

Beckett smiled as the toddler started to describe some of the liveries they'd seen when they'd gone with the McDouglases for an early lunch at In-N-Out so she and Castle could take their daughters. It had been an interesting experience as that had been the first time they'd been able to get their daughters close enough to flying planes and it had enthralled them both.

* * *

_"So you guys sit tight, we'll order," Skye told Castle, Beckett and their daughters as they sat spread across the two tables._

_"There's no way you'll be able to bring everything," Castle was saying, standing and ready to follow them._

_"Also buying-" Beckett began to say._

_"It's on us," Mary told her. "And we'll get everything out since we have your orders."_

_"But…" Beckett started. When the two women merely walked away she sighed and said to Alexis, "I told them they didn't need to thank us but-"_

_"It's coming!" Marie suddenly cried._

_"I don't think anyone's going to let you talk today," Alexis said in amusement as her stepmother nearly started to laugh at that._

_"I will," Castle said as he followed his wife and their daughters to the sidewalk past their table; the same one they'd sat at twice before._

_"What's coming?" Julia asked the twins. When they both just pointed to the east she turned and her mouth dropped open, nearly crying out in surprise before she remembered her little sister. She glanced at Eliza since she was holding her hand and kept quiet, wanting her to be surprised. And as soon as the Southwest plane passed overhead she heard her little sister crying out and jumping up and down in joy at the sight of it. She couldn't help laugh at that reaction, and she then cried, "My camera!" as it was around her neck._

_"Don't worry," Castle said quickly. "You'll have more chances to take a picture of that airline."_

_"So this is where you ate?" Alexis asked as they went back to the table after the twins who looked to the sky from the path leading to the parking lot of the eatery._

_"It is, the same table too," Castle replied. "How did it go love?" he asked as he could see she was looking at the screen of her camera._

_"It went fine," Beckett said, looking up at him. She glanced up at the sky and said, "A bigger one."_

_"Four engines," Marie said, looking at Julia as she spoke._

_"How… oh I see now," the little girl exclaimed once the plane was a little closer to them. "Oh wow, do you see Lizzy?"_

_When the toddler shook her head, Beckett said, "I think it might be a little too far still for her to see that but she will soon."_

_After a little more time the twins led the others to the sidewalk just as the plane was nearing and Skye and Mary reached them with the drinks. They watched the large Singapore Airlines A380 go by before it landed on the runway to their right and Eliza suddenly ran over to Skye._

_"You're thirsty?" the woman asked, looking through the holders for the toddler's drink. When she shook her head Skye looked a little startled and glanced at Castle and Beckett before saying to Eliza, "Then what can I help you with?"_

_"You can fly?" the toddler immediately said._

_"I am a pilot but I only fly Boeing planes," Skye said, going to the table and becoming surprised when Julia stood with her sister in front of her. "That's one company that makes planes. That plane that just landed is-"_

_"Airbus," Julia interrupted her. "Daddy and Mommy have told us about them. They fly with a joystick?"_

_"They do and since I prefer manual flying better I've gone with Boeing," Skye said. "That and the fact my father flew Boeings; my dad too. So I can't fly that kind of plane Eliza but if we see a 747 I'll let you know and you can remember that those are the kind that I fly."_

_Nodding the toddler thanked the investigator for telling her before she went to her father. "More planes?" Eliza asked._

_"Not yet," Mary said, looking to the east with the twins. She was about to say more when the number for their order was called and she said, "Grá?"_

_"I'm on my way," Skye said, standing up quickly and following her wife._

_Julia was watching the two women as they left, seeing Skye grabbing Mary's hand before their fingers entwined. She was about to turn when a hand rested on her shoulder and she looked up to see it was her mother. "Is the next plane coming?" she asked._

_"No, come here," Beckett said, taking her daughter's hand and pulling her to where she sat at the table._

_"What's wrong Mommy?" Julia asked in surprise when her mother hugged her tightly then. She didn't think anything was wrong but knew there was a reason for the hug that she couldn't figure out._

_"Nothing but I feel like I focused more of my attention on Eliza," Beckett said. "I know I didn't," she was swift to add when Julia frowned a little. "But I wanted to tell you that I'm glad you enjoyed the trip."_

_"Plus you wanted to hug me?" Julia said with a wide smile as she knew the reason then for the hug._

_"Of course," Beckett told her. She smiled when her daughter laughed softly and shared a kiss with her before the twins were calling to them that there was another plane._

_While they were watching the Eva Air 777 flying by, Skye told Eliza who'd turned to look for her, "I can't fly that plane, but I have flown it in a flight simulator."_

_"What's that like?" Alexis asked as they all gathered around the two tables to sit and eat._

_"It's nice that you can restart if necessary," Skye replied. "But it doesn't quite compare to flying the actual plane itself…"_

_"Who is it?" Mary asked, watching her wife listening to the radio she'd brought with them._

_"That'll be Transaero," Skye said simply. "A Russian airline."_

_"We've seen that one before," Kathleen commented as they started to eat._

_"How can I get a picture of it if we're eating," Julia said, looking at her burger in her hand._

_"We'll show you," Skye called. She was looking to the east and said, "Alright, everyone to the sidewalk if you want to go."_

_Since she was sitting with Eliza on her lap, Beckett remained where she was, watching the others stand in front of them. "Easy sweetie," she said to her daughter who was wriggling to try and get down. "We're going to see the plane from here too."_

_Eliza was thinking of how to get off her mother's lap to go with her sisters when she suddenly saw the plane ahead. She cried out in joy at it before she soon saw it going down on the ground, white smoke coming up in its wake. "It got a fire!" she cried._

_"No those are the tires," Kathleen replied._

_"Yeah when they hit that hard it makes smoke come up," Julia said, since she'd seen that before and had it explained to her by her father. "And they have to wash the tarmac 'cause the rubber from the tires stays there."_

_"Like a car?" Eliza asked._

_"Something like that," Mary said, smiling slightly as they sat down again._

_Through the meal the group watched as a number of planes landed, mostly smaller models though as they were cleaning up the trays they'd used to get ready to dispose of Marie pointed out the plane that was heading in._

_"Ah," Skye said simply, reaching into the bag on the table they were in and bringing out a pair of binoculars. She found the plane easily and nodded saying, "Eliza, care to join us to view this one?"_

_"Please?" the toddler asked her mother eagerly._

_"We're going right now," Castle said, picking up his youngest before Beckett joined them in walking to the sidewalk._

_"Any idea which one?" Beckett asked Skye and Mary._

_Shaking her head and pointing since the plane was flying past them, Skye waited until it had landed before she told Eliza, "That's a 747-8. I can fly that one too but I'll stick with the x."_

_"What does it say?" Eliza asked._

_"That was a China Airlines plane," Castle told her before Skye could answer._

_"I have that one in my room," Kathleen commented._

_"Me too, the same kind?" Julia asked._

_"No, it's an A380," Kathleen said, shaking her head. "But still, pretty!"_

_"How long are we going to stay?" Alexis asked her father when the next plane passed them; a turboprop Alaska Airlines._

_"Are you bored?" Beckett said with a brief smile._

_"No I'm just wondering about the flight," the young woman assured her. "It's amazing I'm getting the shots to come out."_

_"We've got a half hour before we need to head over," Beckett then said in response to her question. "So hopefully we'll see enough planes for them to be happy."_

_"And me," Castle quickly added._

_"And you," Beckett said, shaking her head though she was smiling again._

_Luckily there were a number of arrivals to the airport, including a British Airways 747x that everyone looked at Skye after once the plane was out of sight._

_"I'm not flying that if that's what you're wondering," the woman said in an obvious attempt to hid her amusement at their looks. "And that'll be your plane."_

_"Wait… to JFK?" Castle said._

_"There's another line from Heathrow to Madrid to JFK to LAX they started with that one," Skye explained. "Mind you its temporary, I think they'll likely take out Madrid at one point and just go from England to the US."_

_"But that's the kind of plane you went on?" Julia asked._

_"Speaking of that," Mary said, looking at her watch as Castle and Beckett nodded in response to their daughter's question._

_"I guess we need to go," Skye said, smiling at her daughters' groans of disappointment while she went to check the eastern sky. "Yeah it's best we do there's no one coming in yet."_

_Though it took a little more time the girls were herded to the two cars and Castle followed Skye to the airport where they parked across from Bradley Terminal before they headed inside to check in._

_"Not many people," Alexis said in surprise as she looked at the short line for the airline's counters._

_"That would be great if we had the plane to ourselves," Castle commented to her as they were waiting for their cases to be weighed._

_"Great, you'd be running down the aisle with the girls," Beckett told him teasingly as they were allowed to go with their carryon luggage._

_"And why not?" Castle asked jokingly. He smiled when she just rolled her eyes and when they reached the McDouglases he said, "So we need to head to the gate."_

_"I would have left some time to look up at the windows, but…" Skye was saying as she took something out of her pocket._

_"Are you coming with us?" Alexis asked, seeing the NTSB logo at the top._

_Nodding, Skye said, "Turns out some colleagues of mine are coming back from Italy so I'm picking them up and taking them back to headquarters. And they also have some evidence so I'm here to ensure things get back to work safely."_

_"You can do that?" Castle asked then in surprise._

_"Oh sure, because I was an investigator on the case," Skye told them as they went over to the entrance to security. "From Seattle of course but I was involved with it."_

_When they got to the end of the line Mary and the twins said goodbye to Castle, Beckett and the girls before the investigator went to her family._

_"So I'm going back home later luckily," Skye told them with a smile. "No need to say good luck." She then leaned down and hugged and kissed the twins before kissing her wife's cheek briefly and letting Mary do the same for her._

_Beckett took Eliza's hand as the investigator turned to them, walking into line which was shorter than she'd expected it to be. When they'd gotten through it and were walking to the gates she said to Skye who was next to her, "Where do you need to go?"_

_"The other end of the building," the woman replied. "And here's your gate. So they'll be coming in after you take off and since they are I can stay with you. If you don't mind of course."_

_"Mommy, Daddy, can we walk with Skye around to look at the other planes?" Julia asked eagerly._

_"If she doesn't mind," Beckett replied. When Skye shook her head she then said, "I'll wait here and let you take the pictures Julia."_

_"Thanks," the little girl said with a smile._

_"I'll stay with her," Castle said before looking at his daughter._

_"I'll join them," Alexis said, following the girls and Skye to the next gate where a plane was parked._

_Taking his wife's hand Castle led her to the window in front of their seats where they looked down at their plane that was being prepared for the flight. Eventually he wrapped his arm around her telling her, "I'm looking forward to going home."_

_"I know me too," Beckett replied with a smile. "Though we're not going to be there long of course."_

_"You put it succinctly," Castle told her, nodding in agreement to what she'd said. "But still we can spend time around town, go to the beach and pool."_

_"Anything else?" Beckett said, since it sounded like he'd trailed off a little._

_"Well that's more between us-" Castle began to say before she was nudging him in the ribs. "You had to have known I was going to say that."_

_Not replying to that Beckett turned and watched their daughters as they walked around, pausing here and there. "She's telling them about the planes," she commented, a smile spreading across her lips._

_"So educational too," Castle commented, watching with her. He wrapped his arm around her waist and then leaned over, pressing his lips to her temple. "You're not mad at me for what I said," he asked._

_"Are you trying to gain some sympathy?" Beckett replied with a smirk._

_"Who knows," Castle said absently as their daughters were hurrying over to them. He picked up Eliza as she came straight to him and picking her up he made her legs swing out in the air to her cry. "Was it fun?" he then asked her as he settled her on his hip._

_"There were lots of planes!" Eliza cried happily. "And pretty too."_

_Julia started showing her parents the planes they'd seen, since she had taken pictures of them with her camera. By the time she'd gone through them all they were being called to board and they all stood up from their seats, Skye starting to say goodbye first to the girls and Alexis._

_"Thank you so much for taking us everywhere we went," Julia was telling the investigator._

_"You're welcome, it was fun to do that," Skye replied. "So it was my pleasure. And I know my girls will be waiting eagerly to hear from you when fall arrives and we're all back home." She smiled when the little girl hugged her tightly and then stood, hugging Alexis telling her, "I hope you'll keep in touch, Mary and I are wondering how your time will go at school."_

_"I'll be sure to e-mail you," Alexis assured her._

_"Rick, thank you for your help again," Skye told him as she shook his hand. "And enjoy your trip across the pond."_

_"I think I will," Castle said._

_Watching as her husband took Alexis and the girls towards the line for first class Beckett turned to Skye and then hugged her tightly. "Thank you for the vacation with our daughters," she said before the woman could speak first._

_"You're more than welcome Kate," Skye said with a smile. "Have a great trip."_

_"Likewise," Beckett responded quickly. "E-mail me."_

_"Whenever I have a chance," Skye told her. She was quick to add, "Thanks. And safe flight."_

_With a nod, Beckett called a goodbye to the woman and joined her family before they boarded their plane back home, looking back as Skye watched them go._

* * *

Julia jumped into the water after her friend had and she swam over to Mari saying, "How is Dani?"

"She's getting bigger," the little girl replied, looking over with her at their mothers as Beckett was holding her little sister. "But she still cries a lot."

"Eliza did the same thing," Julia said, smiling as her little sister was letting Dani take her index finger.

Giggling the toddler said to her mother, "She holds my hand."

"I remember when it wasn't too far back that you were the same size Eliza," Rebecca told her.

"Mind if I take her?" Castle asked, coming over with David from the deep end after they'd kissed their daughters' cheeks.

Watching him holding Dani, Rebecca said, "So are you two ready to go?"

"Not in the slightest," Castle said in amusement. "What, you're trying to get us out of here so you can have a party at the house?"

"Exactly," Rebecca replied before giving him a look.

"We're still getting used to the time change," Beckett then said. "But we're already packing which is turning out to be easy since a lot of what we want to bring with us we took to LA."

"By the way," David then said as Castle was handing him the baby, "Thank you for the stuff you brought."

"You're welcome," Castle said, since he and Beckett had bought a few things for the Fosters and Davises. "So we should swim," he said, looking at Eliza and Beckett. "We do have to eventually get ready for dinner."

"You're not cooking before you leave?" Rebecca asked.

"No," Beckett said as Julia came over with Mari and then pulled her into the water with her. She laughed as Eliza jumped into Castle's arms from the steps and they followed them to the middle of the pool where Alexis was hitting the beach ball up and down.

After David had given Dani to Martha who had asked to watch her, he and Rebecca joined the others with their daughter and they began to play volleyball together. When the girls got tired of that game Mari reminded her parents about the inflatable raft they'd brought over to see if they could use there and she, Julia and Eliza climbed on it while David started to push them around the pool.

Holding onto the side with her dad Alexis told him, "Gram said to me at lunch that you wanted to talk to us when we were ready for dinner."

"Yeah it's nothing serious though," Castle assured her immediately. "Just something from our trip out to California."

Nodding though she didn't quite believe him Alexis let it drop and ducked under the water to swim to the steps where her grandmother and Jim were sitting with Dani on the steps.

"I think Julia guessed something was going on," Beckett told her husband as she swam over to him and held onto the side as well. She watched their daughters with him laughing while David was tickling their feet and smiling said, "Try not to tell them everything too angrily."

"My mom might be mad," Castle commented. "But the girls?"

"I don't know," Beckett replied before she leaned over to kiss him. "Come on, let's head back."

Nodding Castle followed her underneath the water to the raft where they came out of the water, making their youngest cry out in surprise before he grabbed her and put her on his back to swim around the shallow end as Beckett and Julia followed them.

Eventually Julia and Mari got out of the pool and sat together on a lounge chair, leaning back as they talked about the former's trip and everything she'd done in California with her family.

"I wish I could have a pen pal," Mari eventually said before she giggled and said, "Even though my writing isn't that good."

"Well we're not grownups," Julia said, sitting up at that point. She smiled and said, "I know I don't write the best, my cursive writing is abominable." She laughed with her friend since Castle had talked about his early handwriting as being that to them. "But if you want to I can ask if they want to write to you," she then said.

"Do you think they would?" Mari asked hopefully.

"I'll ask in my first letters to them," Julia said firmly. She then said, "I wish you didn't have to leave so soon."

"I know but my grandparents are gonna get here and I haven't seen them since Dani was born," Mari replied. She then smiled and said, "But I'll ask my mommy if we can play tomorrow."

"Me too," Julia said quickly. "But I'll ask my mommy that."

Going over to the girls Alexis said, "Dad and your mom told me to ask you if you wanted to swim one more time together before we head inside to change."

"Yeah, let's get the inner tube," Julia told her friend.

Watching their daughters hurrying together to the inner tube, Rebecca commented to Beckett as she was rocking Dani in her carrier, "Think we should let them spend some time together before you leave?"

"Tomorrow?" Beckett replied instead of answering, though that was her answer.

"Seems as good a day as any," Rebecca replied. "So that beach house sounds nice but that many floors?"

"Well it was a summer house instead of a permanent residence," Beckett replied. "But it was great, we had an amazing time."

"I told you paddle boarding was fun," Rebecca said teasingly. "And if you're serious, we can go… when could I take you to the store near downtown?"

"Maybe after we come back," Beckett said. "It'll probably still be warm then."

"Sure, just let me know," Rebecca said before she noticed her husband was walking over to them. "Oh I think I know what this means."

"Yep, time to go darling," David said.

"You only call me that because you're carrying Ruby," Rebecca said, pretending to be annoyed as she stood. But the next second she was pressing a kiss to her husband's lips before she took their daughter.

"Did everyone say goodbye?" Castle asked, the last one out of the pool a bit later.

"Yeah we did," Julia said, her arm around her friend's shoulder. "But we're gonna play tomorrow, there's a lot to do before we have our vacations."

"I can't wait," Mari said.

"Come on," David said, waiting for the two to share one last hug. "Thanks for having us over and our gifts again."

"We're glad you'll enjoy them," Castle called as the others said goodbye while they followed the family out to the backyard.

"Time to get ready?" Julia asked when her father turned to them.

"It is," Castle said. "Eliza, I'm giving you your bath so let's go." With that the family went inside and upstairs where they split up and headed to the bedrooms to prepare for their dinner and he headed to the toddler's room.

"Mommy!" Eliza cried as her mother walked into her bedroom while her father was trying to undress her.

"I can take over here," Beckett said.

"Are you sure?" Castle asked in slight surprise.

"Julia doesn't need me to take a shower and get dressed," Beckett said easily. "Go."

"Mommy?" Eliza asked, having watched her father kiss her mother hard before he left.

"Sorry you still need to take a bath don't you?" Beckett said to turn the toddler's attention away from what was wrong with her father which luckily worked.

A rushed shower and Castle was dressed for dinner, heading down to the dining room with something under his arm. "Hey you both beat me here…" he said in surprise as his mother and daughter were sitting at the table.

"We were curious Richard," Martha said, frowning slightly when her son closed the door behind him.

"Are you okay Dad?" Alexis asked him, seeing that and becoming concerned.

"It's not negative," Castle said, sitting at the head of the table so he was close to them. "But it answers something we've talked about before." He set down the file he'd brought and told them, "Skye has connections, I told you about that."

"The FBI of course," Martha said.

"And the CIA," Beckett said, suddenly coming into the room.

"How are you all getting ready so quickly?" Castle said as she was dressed as well.

"I asked her if she could have someone look into something," Beckett said then as she sat on the other side of her husband.

"And a man came to the house while we were there and he gave me this," Castle said, sliding the picture of his father across to his mother.

Martha's eyes widened before she closed them and whispered, "You found him."

"Is that… your father?" Alexis asked Castle. At his nod she picked up the picture and said, "He looks familiar."

"What do you mean?" Martha asked in surprise, looking at her granddaughter.

"I saw him at…" Alexis began, trying to recall.

"Our wedding," Beckett supplied. "Do you remember me telling you both about the Irish man from the catering service who got me a glass of water?"

"I remember him getting a drink for me," Alexis replied. "So he was Irish."

"That can't be possible," Martha said. "The man I met all those years ago was in no way from another country."

"His friend, Jones, said that he was taught first thing how to conceal his accent," Castle replied.

"I don't think he could drop it, just conceal it," Beckett commented. "It was very thick."

"So what was his story? Why did he just leave before dawn?" Martha asked, sounding a little perturbed in her tone.

Castle took a deep breath and feeling Beckett taking his hand proceeded to tell his mother what he'd learned about his father, looking at Alexis from time to time to see her reaction.

"So he was a coward," Martha said when her son had read the letter he'd received from McDonough. "And yet he thought he was protecting us."

"It sounds like he actually was," Beckett said carefully. "Because I don't get the idea that he could have settled down."

"At least he never deluded himself into thinking he loved me," Martha said. "That would have likely been more painful."

"Mother-" "Gram-" Castle and Alexis said at the same time.

"No, there's no need to try and comfort me," Martha told the two. "I suppose what I was in love with was that ideal period of time where we were just a man and a woman with no extra baggage to be concerned about."

"I think he was grateful for that," Beckett said when the others were silent.

"You're right, he was Gram," Alexis said.

Sighing for a moment Martha stood and said, "At least he was a smart man; especially if he approved of you Kate. And he wasn't completely heartless; it looks like he loved his granddaughters. Well now we all have closure with this and I would imagine your father would want us to continue our lives Richard."

"Yeah that's what I thought too," Castle said. "Are you sure you're okay?" he asked her then.

"No but in time I will be of course," Martha said, cupping his cheek with her hand.

"Thank you for telling me Dad," Alexis said as her grandmother left the room. She leaned over and kissed his temple saying, "You were right."

When they were alone and Castle had put the photos and papers back in their file Beckett asked her husband, "Right about what?"

Castle reminded her how his daughter had asked him about his father years before and their discussion on what he could and couldn't be. "And I told her in the end there was one thing he couldn't be and it was a father," he said though he knew she recalled by then. "He's the reason why I'm alive, but not why I'm who I am."

Beckett nodded to that and was about to open her mouth to speak when she heard a sneeze outside that sounded familiar. "Julia?" she asked, sharing a glance with her husband before she rushed to get up and go out into the hall. "Girls, were you eavesdropping?"

"What's wrong with Grandpapa?" Julia asked.

"Come inside," Castle said, joining his wife in the doorway. He glanced up and saw that his mother, Alexis and also Jim were watching them from in front of the family room and he motioned to them as well. When he was sitting back at the table he brought both girls onto his lap and said, "This is your grandpa," as he held up the photo.

"Oh… but, I thought you didn't know who he was?" Julia said, turning her head to look at her father before she looked back at the photo again. "Wait, I saw him before but…"

"The wedding," Beckett reminded her.

"So… did he pass away?" Julia asked, realizing then why they were seeing that picture for the first time though she had no idea why exactly that was. When Castle nodded she said, "Oh Daddy, I'm so sorry!"

Hugging both girls to him as Eliza said an apology as well, Castle kissed them both and told them, "Thank you but I'm sorry for you both too."

"We never saw him," Eliza said carefully, looking up at him.

"I know but still he was your grandfather," Castle said.

"Girls," Beckett said after she'd leaned over to whisper something in Irish into her husband's ear. "He knew about you both and about Alexis too."

"He did?" Julia asked. She watched as Castle opened the file on the table in front of them, spreading out photos of herself and her sisters. "How did he get them?" she asked.

"He had ways to do that," Castle said.

Her nose scrunched up in thought Julia then said, "He was a spy."

"I'm not sure what he was exactly," Castle replied. "But I do know his name was Fitzpatrick McDonough and he was born in Ireland and grew up there until he came to New York a little bit before I was born."

"So he's Irish too," Julia said. "So we're Irish, a lot of Irish."

"A good part of us," Jim said, a little startled he'd been included to hear about the man. "This can't leave the family can it?"

"No, so girls," Beckett started to say. "You need to not mention your grandfather, if anyone asks, just tell them you had one. That's all anyone else needs to know."

"I can't even tell Mari? What about Rebecca and David, they're your friends," Julia replied to that.

"We're not going to tell them," Castle said simply. "We can't. So will you keep it secret too?"

"Yeah," Eliza said, nodding. When Julia did so as well she then pointed to a picture and said, "That's me?"

"Just hours after you were born," Martha said, something in her smile a little bitter for a moment. She waved away her son's hand reaching towards her, not needing sympathy in that moment. "So are we ready for dinner?" she asked. "I think we can use a night out on the town to get our minds back to the summer."

"Are we gonna go dancing?" Julia asked.

"No just dinner," Alexis said as they started to get up from the table. "A night out on the town is just an expression."

"Oh I thought we could see Mommy and Daddy dancing," Julia said while she held her sister's hand on the way to the garage.

"I'll feed Macca now," Castle said when he saw the dog following them. "So just wait a second for me." He was a little startled when his father in law stepped up to him and he said, "I wanted you to know a little about my family's past… I guess my father's side but it's not much."

"I'm surprised you included me," Jim said seriously. "But thank you. There's not going to be any kind of… repercussions from what your father did though will there?"

"If there were it would have happened by now Dad," Beckett said, walking back to them. "Come on, we'll meet you at the _Studebaker_."

While they were driving to the restaurant, Castle glanced over at his wife before he said, "I'm thinking of heading back to the beach when we go home."

Smiling, as it was said for their daughters' benefit and because he seemed to be alright at the same time after talking about his father, Beckett said, "I don't know, it might be too cold for them."

"No it won't!" Julia protested quickly. She laughed for a moment when her sister said, "Yeah," right after and then told their parents, "It's summer not winter."

"No snow to play with," Eliza added.

"They make a great point Kate," Castle told her.

"They do," Beckett replied simply. "Okay, we'll head down to the beach later."

"We're you just kidding Mommy?" Julia asked, leaning over a little to look at her.

"I may have been," Beckett said. She smiled when Eliza started to laugh and looked back at the toddler before she sat facing forward, glancing down as her husband's hand gently grabbed her own.

Watching the way their fingers entwined together Julia nodded to that to her sister who nodded before wriggling in her seat a little. When they reached the restaurant shortly after she asked, "Are we going to have a big booth?"

"We need to," Beckett answered once they were parked and she was in the back getting Eliza out of her seat.

"Then can I pick a song on the big jukebox?" Julia asked.

"We will," Castle told her when she'd slid out of the back towards him. Letting her take his hand he led the way to the door where the rest of their family was standing, waiting for them.

Inside Julia dragged her father to the jukebox and with Eliza's and Alexis' help they chose three songs each while Jim watched them, his daughter coming up next to him.

"It bothers him," he commented to her.

"It does but we should talk about that at home," Beckett replied, taking his arm and leading him over to the booth the hostess was taking Martha towards. When they were settled she said to Julia and Eliza who were on either side of her and Castle respectively, "What juice do you want to drink?"

"We couldn't get a milkshake?" Julia asked jokingly.

"No but guess what?" Castle asked.

"What?" Julia replied immediately, glancing at her mother and realizing that by the expression on her face that she had no idea what he was going to say.

"I'm taking us for a cupcake tonight," Castle said. "And we'll eat it after we play on the beach."

"We probably should reverse that Dad," Alexis suggested.

"Or that way too," Castle said with a nod. He smiled when Eliza giggled for a moment and then leaned over saying to her, "Looks like you're having a little bit of a hard time going through that maze," as she was playing with the activity book she and Julia had been given.

"How are you doing sweetie?" Beckett asked Julia.

"Good, it's easy," the little girl said. "Do you want to do something in it Gram?" she asked Martha who was sitting next to her.

"Oh no darling, I'm just enjoying watching your efforts," Martha replied. She glanced over at her son, watching him helping Eliza and soon saw Beckett placing her hand on his shoulder. When he turned to his wife, she wasn't surprised when the latter whispered into Castle's ear and she smiled when her son laughed before murmuring something back to her. Glancing back at her granddaughter she wasn't surprised to see that Julia was watching her.

"You see too?" the little girl asked quickly.

Though she knew her two youngest granddaughters knew about their parents' love for each other, Martha wasn't aware that Julia kept an eye on them as well. "Are you worried about them?" she asked, brushing aside the memory of her and Alexis being the same way the year before.

"No," Julia replied, shaking her head quickly. "Are you?"

"I don't think you either of you are," Beckett said in some amusement. She had to fight a smile as the two looked up at her and she told them, "Rick and I are doing fine. We need to order Julia are you ready?"

From the moment their waiter left them with their orders Eliza started to ask her father what cupcakes she could get.

"I think you mean cake," Castle corrected her. "One is enough."

Pursing her lips the toddler then asked, "What if I see two?"

"Then you have to pick one of them," Alexis said. She laughed softly when Eliza squeezed her eyes shut tightly and wrinkled her nose at the same time, making her say, "Sorry but I'm pretty sure Dad and your mom would say that."

"Mommy-" Eliza began.

"Your sister is right," Beckett told her simply. "Just one but we'll help you pick one out," she added. She wasn't too surprised when the toddler merely nodded before she turned back to her activity book. "I think she's learned a little from you about acting," she then said to her mother in law, smiling as she spoke so Martha wouldn't think she considered it a bad thing.

"I think so," Castle's mother said. "So how much more left do you have before you're ready for our trip?"

"Not all that much," Beckett responded after thinking for a moment. "I think we just need to finish packing."

"Are we ready?" Julia asked.

"Your clothes are packed," Beckett said, smiling briefly at her mother in law to thank her as she'd helped the girls. "And you have a few things for when we'll be in the car and on planes. And your camera is ready too right?"

"Yes," Julia said seriously. She then smiled and said, "Could we show them more pictures tonight?"

"If they don't mind," Beckett said. "But we'll see after we get home since now we need to eat," she said quickly as she saw their waiter coming over with another to give them their dishes. Once her father at the other end of the table asked if they were ready, she helped Castle answer that and the discussion soon went to Eliza and Julia who eagerly told them what they were bringing with them for their European vacation.

* * *

"I realized," Castle said in the car leaving the restaurant in the opposite direction from the cupcake store. He knew Beckett was going to ask where they were going so he hurried to tell her, "That we forgot to do something."

"Are we going to the stables?" Julia asked then as she recognized the direction they were going in.

"Just a quick visit," Castle told his wife.

Since it wasn't so far out of the way Beckett glanced back at the other car that Alexis was driving and said, "They don't mind?"

"No, I mentioned it to them as we were leaving and we're only going to see how Alex and Julius are," Castle said. "But tomorrow morning they'll watch them for us if you want to take a ride."

"I'd love to," Beckett told him immediately, feeling like it had been far too long since they'd ridden their horses. She watched the scenery they passed along the way to the stables and when they neared she wasn't surprised to hear Eliza start to chant, "Horsies!" behind them.

After they'd made their way from the parking lot to the building their two horses were in Castle and Beckett waved to some of the stable hands there. As soon as they stepped inside, neither was shocked to find their horses sticking their heads out of their stalls and beginning to stomp their feet.

"Well we should walk them in the corral," Beckett told her husband, rushing to her horse and rubbing his nose as she held him by the head with her other hand. "Since Julia and Eliza are here now."

"We could," Castle said before he and Beckett shared a look. He went inside Julius' stall with a laugh telling her, "Not sure why we had to convince ourselves there," as he grabbed the bridle and reins for his Andalusian.

"To justify it," Beckett told him as she was getting her horse ready.

When she saw her mother's horse coming out from the stable first, Julia gasped and said, "Are you going to ride?"

"No just walk around," Castle replied as he gestured the girls after them. Once he and Beckett were inside the nearest corral he looked back to make sure the girls were by the gate. He then walked with his wife around the outside of the circle, holding his horse steady as she was doing the same.

Julia waited a little impatiently until they had come back to them and then waited for Castle to place Eliza on top of his horse before her mother turned to her. "Up on the rail Mommy?" she asked.

"Go ahead," Beckett told her with a slight nod. She held Alex steady as her daughter then used the rail to get up onto the horse's bare back. Keeping her hand on the side of the stallion's neck she waited to make sure he wasn't going to react to Julia and when he didn't she started to walk around the corral.

"Stay steady sweetheart," Castle told Eliza as he held the reins in one hand and the other was on the toddler's back. He wasn't surprised when she was calm; it wasn't her first time on the back of his horse; and he said, "You'll be a great rider when you're a little older."

"Wanna ride Daddy," Eliza said. " _Now_."

Smiling at her use of Irish, Castle told her, "You will I promise but for now you'll learn."

"Like Jules?" Eliza asked. At her father's nod she looked over at her sister who was soon next to her and she waved carefully to her with her left hand.

Waving back Julia said to her mom, "Can I try after by myself? Just a walk?"

"I'll see," Beckett replied. "Back straight sweetie… good try and keep it just like that."

When they had come back around to where she, Alexis and Jim were standing Martha asked, "Are you sure you'd feel comfortable with her taking the horse?"

"Oh you heard that?" Beckett asked with a smile. At her mother in law's nod she said, "I've ridden Alex bareback and he seems to respond better with that. So she'd be safe doing that. Rick?"

Castle was a little startled at that until he realized what she wanted to do so he grabbed Eliza and kissing her cheek handed her over to Jim who was reaching over for her. "You guessed?" he asked his father in law with a smile.

"I've seen that same look in my wife's eyes," Jim replied with a slight nod.

Castle then waited for Beckett to climb up onto Alex's back behind their oldest and he then got onto Julius, waiting for her to take the lead.

"I'll let you take the reins but I'm keeping my hands close just in case," Beckett told her daughter. "Remember keep very calm so you don't spook him before we start." At the slight nod of the little girl she smiled as she could tell that Julia was eager but keeping it in check. "Alright get us started sweetie."

With a slight nudge to the horse's flanks Julia held the reins loosely in her hands as they began to walk along the fence of the corral again. She looked over at her father as he stayed with them and she asked, "How am I doing?"

"Very nicely, your teacher would be pleased at your form," Castle commented. "Though I think he'd have a heart attack at you handling this horse without a saddle."

Julia wanted to shrug at that but didn't want to move too suddenly so she instead said, "It's okay, that's how people rode before there were saddles and they did pretty good I think."

"You're so sure of that?" Castle asked teasingly.

"What about you?" Julia shot back before smiling widely. "I'm kidding Daddy."

"I know and believe it or not I rode bareback after I learned how to ride horses," Castle said.

"Mommy-" Julia started to say.

"The same for me May and I rode a few times like this after our longer rides, just to try it out," Beckett replied. They were coming back to their family so she told the little girl, "Slow him down now."

"Whoa Alex," Julia said calmly with a gentle tug on the reins. When the horse immediately came to a stop she sighed as her mother slipped from the back and her father did the same from his horse. "I wish we could go a little longer," she told her.

"I know," Beckett began as she watched Julia slip into Castle's arms. "But when we come back you'll be able to ride again in your class. Now though who wants to help us feed them?" She wasn't surprised when both girls raised their hands eagerly and she led the way with Castle to the stable where they set the two before helping the girls feed them a carrot each as they pet the stallions with their other hand.

* * *

Watching her mother hold up the cupcake they'd chosen together to her lips Eliza said, "You bite first."

"I didn't really make the final decision sweetie," Beckett said as Eliza was sitting on her lap. "So you can take the first bite."

"What about this?" the toddler asked, pointing to the fondant watermelon that was on top of the chocolate frosting.

"Take a bite and I'll have the other half," Beckett said. She wasn't surprised when her daughter did that and as she was eating the other half she watched Eliza take a bite out of the cupcake. "All over your nose," she said.

"Not a surprise," Castle said. "I always found it fascinating how kids don't really seem to care about the frosting and just dive right in." He laughed then when Eliza touched the tip of his nose, smearing the frosting she'd gotten from her nose onto it. "Thank you, do you want me to be a clown?" he asked her, pretending to be serious.

Giggling Eliza shook her head and then took another bite when her mother held the cupcake to her again. "Now do we play?" she asked after swallowing her bite, looking around the table at the others.

"When we finish," Jim said, watching Julia looking at her cupcake seriously. "You're enjoying that?"

"A lot," the little girl replied seriously before she giggled a little. "And I'm serious, it's sooo good."

"She's right, they do know how to make cupcakes there," Martha said, having already finished her mini-cupcake. "Nearly as good as some places in the city."

"Their red velvet is good Gram," Alexis pointed out to her.

"That's true… very true," Martha said before she saw that her son had finished eating. "Richard," she told him. "Why don't we get the pails for the girls I'm sure they're going to want to gather some seashells while we're down at the water."

"Of course," Castle said, looking at Beckett who nodded briefly to him. He stood up and kissed the tops of the girls' heads before kissing Alexis' cheek. Following his mother outside he said, "If you're wondering how I'm doing after finding out about my father I can answer that right now."

"Oh I already know," Martha said. "You seem perfectly fine but I can tell there was something you were holding back. Anger?"

"There's a part of me that's a little… guilty in feeling that," Castle said, nodding. "But I think I have a reason to be since I ended up growing up without a father."

"And the fact that you can't find it in yourself to love him," Martha added. When he just looked at her she sighed and said, "Neither can I now that I know I was a temporary escape. But he never abused me as he was so afraid he'd do and he did try to keep up with us."

Sharing a look with his mother Castle shook his head and told her, "It's not enough. But it just shows that…"

"We didn't really need him," Martha said. "And now I know what's been bothering you the most." She turned towards the house and seeing that Beckett was coming outside she said, "I would assume you've talked about your fears with her?"

"He did," Beckett said as she approached them. She smiled at her husband and said, "I told him that he is a great father and that he doesn't need to worry about becoming like his grandfather."

"No you don't," Martha said. "Thank you for that Kate."

"Well it's the truth," Beckett said with another smile as she took her husband's hand. "And he's alright now."

Looking into her son's eyes Martha nodded and said, "You did a good job convincing him I think."

"She did," Castle said simply, glancing past his mother to see Alexis and Jim leading Eliza down the stairs together. "Where's-" he started to say.

Julia rushed outside past the others with Macca and cried, "I'm here! I went to see where he went so he could come with us."

"Let's get the pails," Beckett said to her husband. "We'll meet you down at the water." When they were alone and walking over to where they kept their daughters' beach toys she squeezed his hand saying, "Okay?"

"Yeah just thinking," Castle replied. "And to tell you the truth I'm tired of running this through my head over and over again. It's not really closure if I don't allow it to be that."

"That's a valid point," Beckett said as she watched him pick up the two bright blue pails. "What are you going to do to make sure it is?"

"Spend time with my family," Castle said, going to stand in front of her. "And you… if you'd like that as well."

Beckett didn't bother to reply to that, simply wrapped her arms tightly around her husband's neck as she kissed him deeply. When he responded in turn she let out a soft moan before they grasped onto each other tightly and after a time she realized the pain on the small of her back was the pail handles pressing into her skin.

"What?" Castle asked, a little startled when his wife completely pulled away from him.

"We'll have to continue that when we have our hands free," Beckett told him, nodding to what was in his right one.

"Good idea," Castle said, taking her hand and starting to walk back to the yard before he let her go and then wrapped his arm around her waist.

Turning Alexis called to them, "Great you made it they're already finding shells."

"You're not kidding," Castle said, seeing the piles that the girls had already made. "Here into the buckets with them."

Giggling at the accent he'd took on at that the girls then started to run around the breaking waves, Macca barking at the water splashing him as he chased them. When their parents told them they needed to wash up and head back inside since it was getting closer to Eliza's bedtime they reluctantly stopped and stood in the water as Alexis and Jim helped them clean the sand out of the buckets.

"So those will be ready for us to check out tomorrow," Castle said once he and Beckett had helped their daughters spread out the shells in the grass to dry the next morning. "And we'll see what to do with them."

"I think they'll be good for decorating," Julia said.

"Me too," Eliza said, giggling as her grandmother was rinsing off her feet.

"We'll see tomorrow you two," Beckett told them with a smile as she watched Julia stick her left foot under the water coming from the hose. Once they had dried them off she took their hands, leading them into the family room where she left them to grab the USB sticks that were hers and Julia's. "I think we're on Disneyland now," she said as she came back into the room.

"Oh Mommy yours should be first then," Julia said eagerly. "They were better pictures 'cause she's taller," she told her grandfather seriously.

"I'm sure yours are just as nice," Jim assured her. He glanced at his daughter when Julia merely shrugged and said, "She's doubtful of her talents?"

"She's still practicing," Beckett said. "But she's showing promise."

"So that'll be the Beckett blood?" Alexis asked.

"How many families are there?" Julia blurted out. "You say McCollough all the time for horsies and now Beckett for taking pictures…"

"All our ancestors," Castle said. "They all lent a little bit into what makes us who we are now."

Julia thought about that and said, "That's why family trees help?"

"That and to trace where your family comes from exactly," Jim told her. "And here are the pictures, who's going to guide us through them?"

"I will, Lizzy help me," Julia said, sliding off his lap. "This was when you got inside," she said, pointing to the huge floral Mickey head. "And that was a train station but we didn't go on that."

Beckett handed the remote to Alexis, going to sit with her husband on the couch as they listened to their daughters explaining everything they could in the photographs to her father and his mother. She kept her eye on the time and when they were just barely into Frontierland she stood up, eliciting an immediate protest from both her daughters. "Come on you two," she said with a smile. "You've got to go to bed you know."

"Why me too?" Julia asked. She then realized something and asked, "You let her stay up?"

"Just a little bit," Castle said, picking up Eliza then who was yawning widely. "And we need to really finish up everything we want to do before we leave, starting tomorrow."

Standing up Jim watched as Martha and Alexis kissed the toddler on her cheeks and murmured a goodnight to her before he did the same, cupping her cheek for a moment as she smiled at him. "Night Julia," he told his oldest granddaughter. "I love you."

"Night Gram, Grandpapa and Alexis; I love you," Julia said as Martha had kissed her goodnight and said that to her too.

"We'll be back down," Beckett said to the three before they were heading out to the stairs. Though Eliza had kept up her energy through the pictures she wasn't too surprised to see that when Castle laid their youngest on her bed she was fast asleep.

"Too much fun today," he told his wife and their oldest. He then leaned over and pressed his lips to Eliza's forehead murmuring, "I love you sweetheart, night."

Going over to her next Beckett tucked Eliza in gently and then kissed her forehead before she whispered, "I love you too Eliza, sweet dreams."

As they were walking over to her room Julia said, "You're okay Daddy? It must have made you mad to hear that letter."

"How much of it did you hear?" Castle asked, startled at that as he had thought she'd have forgotten much of what he'd told them about.

"That he was proud to be a grandfather 'cause of us and after," Julia said honestly though a little hesitantly. "But he isn't really a grandfather I don't think."

"And why is that?" Castle asked, wrapping his arm around her. He wasn't surprised when Julia hesitated and he suggested, "Because he wasn't like your grandpapa?"

"Yeah is that bad to think?" Julia said, looking to her mother.

"Not exactly but he is your grandfather too," Beckett replied. "Because he's your daddy's father."

Nodding at that as she seemed to accept that explanation, Julia said, "But you're a great daddy you know."

"Yeah your mom was very insistent that I know that after I got all that information," Castle said. "And since you and Eliza love me so much, I must be."

"You _are_ ," Julia insisted, emphasizing the last word. She hugged him tightly before he was suddenly picking her up and she then wrapped her arms around his neck. "You are Daddy, I love you," she whispered to him.

Beckett squeezed her husband's arm as he closed his eyes tightly hearing that and then went with him to set Julia down on the bed. "She'll hurry," she told him as he had to leave for Julia to change.

Standing out in the hall Castle took a deep breath, smiling in pleasure at how insistent Julia had been and how earnest her I love you had been as well. When his wife gave a soft whistle he hurried back inside and went straight to Beckett, cupping the back of her head and kissing her as she placed her hands on his chest to push him away.

"Mommy, did Daddy come back in? I- eep!" Julia gasped as her word disappeared into a strangled cry as she saw her parents were preoccupied and neither could answer her question.

"Sorry, I'm sorry I couldn't help it," Castle said quickly to the little girl as she then smiled widely at them.

"You did that when you got the pails didn't you?" Julia asked. When Castle nodded while Beckett just touched her lower lip with her fingertip she then said, "Why didn't you keep kissing there?"

"Okay time for you to go to bed," Beckett said before Castle could reply to that as well. "Why do you want to know?"

"If you got interrupted then that's why he kissed you like that," Julia replied. "And why you didn't try to stop him that good."

"What makes you think I didn't," Beckett said.

"Because you were holding onto his shirt," Julia shrugged. When her mother looked at her incredulously she giggled and said, "You were."

"Okay you need to get some sleep," Beckett said, standing up then and getting out of the way of her husband.

"You're turning into your mom, very observant," Castle told her.

"And you too Daddy," Julia replied. "But I'm happy when you do that, 'cause you're in love."

"She's got a point there," Castle said, looking back at his wife. When she just shook her head he said to Julia, "I guess we better say goodnight. I love you sweetheart."

Smiling as she watched them kiss and Julia echo her father's I love you, Beckett moved to sit next to her and hugging her said, "I love you too Julia and you don't need to worry about us."

"I love you Mommy and I know but I still hope you don't stop kissing like that, ever," Julia replied. She smiled as her mother made her lay back and then tucked her in, holding her Stitch doll as she watched Macca jump up on the bed and turn around three times before plopping down.

"When he gets bigger we better hope he doesn't break your bed doing that," Castle said teasingly.

"Come on Rick, she needs to sleep," Beckett said, taking his hand as Julia laughed softly. "Night Julia."

"Sweet dreams," Castle called to her as he let his wife lead the way to the door where they closed the lights before leaving. Going downstairs he wasn't too surprised to find his father in law waiting at the bottom and he said, "I'll be with my mom and Alexis," going past him to the family room.

"We'll get some coffee, let me know if they want any," Beckett called after him. "So if you're wondering, Rick worries about someday being like his grandfather but it's not going to happen. And he's angry about basically being abandoned but after so many years he's come to peace with it. It's just the sudden influx of information about his father and his fears have made him mad."

"Understandable," Jim replied. "What I'm more worried about is the idea that something in his father's family…"

"There was a paper we discovered the morning we shipped the box to here," Beckett said. "With a note that was a warning we had to destroy it for ours and the girls' sakes that was a basic medical history of his father's family. But the odd thing was there were no names just father, mother, grandfather, grandmother and so on. There was some tendency towards illnesses pertaining to drinking but nothing that he and I would need to worry about concerning Alexis, Julia and Eliza."

"That's what worried me the most," Jim said. "Since it's dangerous not to know about that." He then opened his mouth to speak but hesitated before his daughter urged him to continue. "What about-"

"Mental health?" Castle said, coming up behind his father in law. When the man turned to him and nodded he replied, "I worried about that too but that was in the records and nothing but one case of depression. So I think everything's okay. And I don't blame you for wanting to know about that, it means you're a thoughtful grandfather."

Jim nodded his thanks and said, "I'll join Martha and Alexis."

Watching him go, Beckett said to her husband once he was out of earshot, "Did you think he'd make me get a divorce from you if that paper had revealed any problems?" since she could tell he was thinking something along those lines.

Shaking his head Castle moved to his wife and simply wrapped his arm around her to press the small of her back to bring her close enough to kiss him. When Beckett hurriedly responded he knew that was the end result of their two interrupted kisses and together they let that evolve into two more before the sound of the coffee finishing brewing interrupted them. Getting a tray ready with all the cups they went together to the family room hand in hand to join the rest of their family.

* * *

Coming out of the bathroom later that night, Beckett saw that her husband was standing at the window looking down at the beach. "Are you okay?" she asked, going to him.

"Yeah," Castle replied simply. He then felt his wife's hands wrap around his upper arm and he turned to look at her saying more firmly, "I am, just watching the waves."

Nodding Beckett then said, "You're still brooding though."

"Can't blame me for that," Castle said. "But you're right, I'll try and stop."

"It's not about your father," Beckett said. When her husband turned to her with a surprised look on his face she explained, "It's the fact that he ran from anything with your mother."

"That doesn't bother you at all?" Castle asked, turning around and leaning against the glass. "I have no real father that showed me how to be with a wife. He just hid from us and didn't even try to see if he could have been a husband to my mother. It's not exactly the best-"

"You managed to do pretty well in spite of that," Beckett was quick to tell him. She smiled when he looked a little doubtful and continued with, "Granted, he didn't show you how to be when you grew up. But you still learned because it's inherent in us to care for our children, you wanted to care for your daughters and you've done the best you can with that. As for being a husband…" She trailed off and looked thoughtful for a moment before she said, "That's a little different and since people are so different I'm sure the couple learns together. What we're doing now for the girls is just showing them that there is such a thing as a marriage that works. And apparently we're also showing them how you can still be in love after so long a time."

"Barely even four years love," Castle said. "So would you say I've been a good husband?"

Beckett nearly started to smirk; not surprised when her husband looked startled at that; and then said, "You are and to tell you the truth, I think your father helped you in that."

"The fact that it made me work to prove that I could be?" Castle asked. When his wife nodded he stood up straight and reached out to her, pulling her to him. "At some point though I forgot I was doing that. And have just been… your husband."

"No thought into that?" Beckett said. When he nodded and kissed her temple she smiled and said, "That works better I think."

Pulling away from her so he could look at her Castle studied her face for a moment before he leaned down and kissed her. He kept it simple but delved into a little bit of sensuality by slowly curling his tongue around hers and then flicking against it. They had to part to breathe a little after that and he gave them a few seconds for some quick breaths before he was about to lean down and kiss her again when he paused. "I almost forgot," he told her before she could ask. He took her by the hand and led her to his nightstand saying, "I got us something."

"It's not another toy is it?" Beckett asked, slightly teasingly but a little seriously as well.

"We have one already," Castle replied as he opened the cabinet after unlocking it. He pulled out a book and handed it to Beckett before he stood next to her, looking down as she read the title.

"Was our other one getting boring?" Beckett asked teasingly since it was a positions book.

"No but I spotted this one and thought it would be good…" Castle said.

Catching the way his voice trailed off easily Beckett asked, "What is it?"

"Better open it," Castle replied.

"It doesn't have pictures does it?" Beckett said as she was doing so. "Oh, that makes sense," she said when she saw it was a line drawing. She flipped through a few more and then looked for the illustrator's name. "That explains why the men are drawn in a little more detail. But really, not much difference in the women at least chest-wise." She then looked at her husband and asked, "That's what you were worried about?"

"Slightly," Castle replied. "But you'll notice they give a description for everything."

"I saw," Beckett said, flipping through it. "Interesting it's for the whole year…"

"What?" Castle asked as she stopped. Since there were two drawings on either side of the page he couldn't tell which one she was looking at and he said, "Which?"

"This," Beckett told him.

Castle took the book out of her hands and studied the position she'd indicated and he nodded slightly. "It can be done, pretty easily," he told her. "Why don't you try a random page?"

"For us to do or just because I did that with our other book?" Beckett asked. When he shook his head and then nodded, she rolled her eyes before she closed the tome and then opened it arbitrarily. "Well I suppose you need to draw that to show he's enjoyed it all the way to the end," she said as they both looked at the drawing of a woman orally pleasuring a man. "But the fact there's nothing but a groin is disturbing."

"Very," Castle said, watching her flip through the book again. He then reached over to her and took it out of her hands, setting it down on his nightstand. Before she could say anything in response to that he was gathering her up in his embrace and kissing her passionately as she clung tightly to him. He was relieved to feel her soon responding to him and as they were playfully dueling inside of her mouth he allowed his hands to slip underneath her NYPD shirt. Shuddering at the feel of her bare skin that was warm under his palms he ended up breaking off the kiss and he muttered an apology before she was leaning her forehead against his.

"It's alright, just try again," Beckett said. She couldn't help smile as he immediately pulled away to look at her and she continued with, "Maybe we should move to the bed."

"We should," Castle said. "But not yet." He wasn't surprised when she looked at him in confusion before he reached for the bottom of her shirt. She raised her arms for him so he knew with that that she understood what he wanted next then but knew she wasn't aware of what exactly he was planning; which was perfect for him as he leaned down to her.

Beckett's gasp in response to her husband's hands coming up to cup her breasts was brief and a little lower in volume than she was expecting. But the pleasure from his touch was intense and she watched him soon start to stroke both of her mounds, gently and carefully until he had pulled away. She knew what he wanted before he even said a word and helped him with his shirt, tossing it over to hers before they went to the bed. She raised her hips as Castle was removing the last of her clothes and she reached out to him while he was taking care of his own. She gently ran her fingertips over his chest, watching him undress as close to her as he could. Once he was climbing onto the bed with her she pushed herself onto her elbows; as had been in the picture; and spread her legs apart wide. She was a little taken aback when he didn't move to enter her instead he leaned over and started to kiss her around her neck and collarbone before descending to her breasts. "Rick…" she whispered, nearly gasping in that as he was brushing over each mound tenderly.

Castle didn't bother to reply to her question that had been contained in his name; instead he focused his attention on where he was and what he needed to do. He went around her upper body, kissing where he could before he took her lips roughly. Her arms wrapping around him he was surprised when she wasn't raising her legs to wrap them around him too. But he could tell they were still spread so he took the opportunity to lie in between them, pressed against her but not entering her yet. When they needed to breathe he pulled away from her and murmured, "I adore you Kate."

It was then that Beckett could comprehend what her husband was doing and she cupped his cheek to hold him in place telling him, "I know and I adore you too but you don't-" Before she could finish that though he was crushing his lips to hers, making her groan slightly in surprise at that. She decided that she didn't really need to continue, so instead she began to respond to him before he was moving back. The look in his eyes when he did so shook her hard, especially when he reached down and started to stroke her breasts and never broke their gaze. "You…" she started to say but trailed off as he immediately stopped.

"Do you want me stop?" Castle asked her seriously, looking into her eyes. When she shook her head he leaned his head down and brushed his lips against her nipples before he descended lower. He heard his wife gasping and then moaning as he reached her mound eventually and he paused there for a moment.

Beckett was tempted to ask Castle in a rage what he was doing but he then moved and she lost her protest. More so because his literal worshiping of her body had become what she had been hoping for; desire. She reached down to him then and took his erection into her hand before helping him enter her. When he'd done so and didn't need her she raised her body back up on her elbows and remembering the position in the book, placed the sides of her feet on the sides of his knees. "Good?" she asked as he gave an experimental thrust.

With a grunt Castle didn't answer and started to move when he realized he'd needed to hear from her what she wanted. But as she was moaning in response to him and already was working to match him he found he didn't have to ask, having his answer in that. He then kept going, groaning heavily as the feel of her sex was making him nearly dizzy since he could tell she'd become heavily aroused. "Was this from… the pictures… or me?" he asked her, panting already as he was going that fast.

"You… the pictures… aren't enough," Beckett gasped before she realized her mouth was brushing against her husband's face. She tilted her head slightly and started to kiss him, starting with his lips. It was a welcome distraction that she already needed since he was driving her crazy with the pace of his body within her coupled with the friction of his length deep inside her. She was moving her hips the best she could towards him and could hear the sound of their skin slapping together satisfyingly. When she realized that the kiss wasn't doing what she wanted it to she pulled away and murmured against his lips, "I saw another…"

"Oh god Kate," Castle gasped as he raised his head from where he was kissing at her neck. He then moved up to press his forehead against hers and said, "You want me again?"

"Already," Beckett replied before she moved her lips enough to press them to his. She was a little frustrated that she couldn't hold onto him but as he slipped his tongue into her mouth she decided it wasn't that big of a deal. As he moved from her so they could breathe she closed her eyes tightly while his lips were trailing across her skin before he reached her neck. Her mouth dropped open as he sucked at her pulse and soon his teeth were involved nearly making her cry out. Instead she started to moan his name, not stopping as he became so rough that she knew she was going to have a mark the next day. She never knew when exactly she fell back to the bed but once she had her arms moved of their own volition, wrapping around him as her legs began to do the same. Still moving with him she felt his hips driving against hers a lot stronger and she moved to whisper into his ear, "Fuck me harder Rick," as the pleasure of him inside of her seemed to suddenly double.

Castle jerked slightly at that, not sure how he could do that for her when he was already moving as fast as he possibly could. But he tried to, his knees firmly on the bed with his hands on either side of her giving him the most leverage that he could get. He managed to make a difference in his speed but it took a lot of his energy and finally he had to stop himself though as he was doing so he had an idea that he hurried to begin.

Beckett was going to protest the fact that he'd stopped completely and again when he pulled away from her, saying his name. But a second later his face was buried in between her legs and she was throwing her head back, crying out his name that second time before she could keep her tone down. She gasped and began to undulate her hips against him while his tongue was lapping at her. She was holding onto the sides of the pillow below her and begging him to stop before she lost control of herself. "Please… I can't…" she whispered before stopping speaking entirely.

Taking that seriously Castle allowed himself only a few seconds longer of the taste of her arousal before he was moving to couple with her again. He watched her closely as he was doing that, feeling her hands eventually coming up to cup his face which he turned to kiss. His lips brushing over her palms he remained still and said to her, "Do you want me to move?"

"Yes!" Beckett protested, her legs tightening around him for a second time as she'd wrapped both them and her arms around him as soon as he'd entered her. She prepared herself to order him to start when he rammed against her and she could tell that something within him had changed. He was still worshiping her, as she could feel him kissing her tenderly all over her neck and breasts, but he was going back and forth nearly savagely. She was soon pushed up against the headboard and she reached up, using the sudden leverage that she had with that to help her. The bed was protesting underneath them while their hips were slamming with a crash together and her body was thrumming with absolute pleasure that she didn't think she was going to be able to last against. Every inch of her body could feel Castle's against her and she was crying out as her head turned back and forth to try and stand what he was doing to her.

Listening to her, listening to them and feeling her in every way that he was Castle was suddenly a little frantic with Beckett. His right hand was coming up to her breasts, trying to caress her though he was rougher than he meant to be. Considering that she was reacting vocally and positively to that he didn't stop until he need to before he was unable to support himself above her. He leaned down and took her right breast, enveloping the nipple in his mouth and groaning against it as he suckled at her feverishly. Things suddenly became too much as he was doing the same to her other mound and he hurriedly pulled away saying, "I can't stop."

"I don't want you to…" Beckett breathed. Something then in the way that he thrust against her suddenly made her back jerk and what felt like a white hot spike of energy filled her. Her body was wracked in ecstasy and she was suddenly crying out, nearly screaming to her husband, "Oh Rick, I'm coming! Keep fucking me, I want you to keep making me come. I don't want to stop feeling your cock so deep in me!" But to her near shock her husband stopped moving and she let out something that she had no idea if it was a moan or a whimper as she knew what he was going to do. Her body felt a little weak when she finally came down from her high and a groan escaped her lips as she felt Castle moving again.

His head literally spinning, he thrust as hard as he could inside of Beckett but made sure he was monitoring her closely as he had a plan. It had come to Castle when his wife had called to him during her climax and he only hoped that he could pull it off. He was slightly shocked when he needed to stop almost as soon as he had begun as she was reacting to him but soon realized however he was getting inside of her was close enough to her g-spot that he was making her excited quickly. Before she could start objecting to him remaining still he was starting to thrust and went as hard as he could immediately. He had to stop only a few minutes later, he himself the reason that time instead of his wife. "I want to… make you fucking faint love," he nearly growled to her as he was moving again.

"Then do it! You're so close," Beckett gasped as while he was speaking he'd also sat up on his knees and raised her hips. The angle of that somehow brought him close to her g-spot and she used her hands to push herself up further, crying out before he was stopping. She was surprised when he did that as she knew he had to be close while she herself was again. The steady rhythm against her sex was making the pleasure build up in her further and she wasn't sure how she was keeping the last shred of her self control. "Please Rick, don't stop," she begged him when he stopped yet again, reaching up and holding onto his shoulders the best she could.

Castle nodded and then proceeded again, that time with no intention of stopping which was just as well since it took little time for him to see his wife writhing which signaled her orgasm a brief second before she vocalized it. Hearing his name on her lips he lost it himself, groaning hers over and over until he suddenly realized that she had stopped speaking. And looking down at her he wasn't very surprised to discover that she had passed out. When the same happened to him shortly after he couldn't figure out later on how the pleasure in his body seemed to be a constant, even as he was unconcious.

The first to come to Beckett felt the weight of her husband's body a second before she heard him starting to groan aloud. "Okay?" she asked as he pulled away from her before he seemed to collapse on his back.

"Yeah just…" Castle said before trailing off. He then rolled over to her before he covered her right breast with his hand.

About to protest at first he was leaning over and nuzzling at Beckett's neck and she found she couldn't really try to make him stop. She raised her hand and covered his with it saying, "You want to see the one I saw already?" When his head came up to look at her, she smiled and then moved his hand before she climbed on top of him. His eyes wide she took his hand that had been fondling her breast and made him touch her clit. It was slightly hypersensitive still but already she could feel the stirrings of her arousal as he took over the rhythm she'd set. While he was busy with that she settled herself on his stomach and at the same time reached back around herself to grasp his member. Hearing his gasp at her touch she began to stroke him which was a little difficult behind her but she soon felt she was achieving what she'd set out to do. Since she herself was soon aroused, feeling her husband's fingers slipping through her folds, she pushed herself up and then back to take him inside of her.

Holding onto his wife's hips tightly as she was going down Castle was sure he had to be hyperventilating as she was slick sliding down him. But he didn't pass out and their hips were soon meeting while she was leaning over as far as she could. While she was rocking back and forth against him he watched the way her breasts brushed against him and he felt he was having a war inwardly trying to decide which was better; those or her sex around him, friction rough as she was moving fast. He then suddenly blurted out, "I'm not going to let you stay like that," not sure what exactly had compelled him to say that.

Beckett bit at her lower lip at that, and also how he'd said it, and then said, "I wouldn't mind," as she saw that he looked a little startled at himself. She abruptly turned around then, lying on her back a second before her husband started to thrust furiously against her. In response she wrapped her legs as high up around his sides as she could while she closed her eyes. She responded to his pace the best she could for some time before they were moving again. She was quick to recover and started to rock her body back and forth as Castle was holding her tightly to him. They were kissing at the same time and grabbing a little desperately to one another. The pleasure returned after the brief pause to move and she nearly started to dig her nails into his back before she was pulling away from him. She kissed his ear lobe before nibbling at it, hearing his groan and cursing as she was doing that. And since his voice was so imbued with pleasure there was no shock at all when he was pulling from her and forcing her to drape over the table behind their headboard.

Holding onto his wife's hips then Castle found that he was able to ram into her body as hard as he pleased. He watched Beckett though, trying to make sure that he wasn't hurting her at the same time. But since she seemed to be taking things in stride he allowed himself to indulge in feeling her around him, making him lean over soon after to whisper hotly in her ear. He wasn't sure what he was saying exactly but since he was mixing English and Irish he knew it wasn't anything he'd repeat outside of their bedroom. And with Beckett's cries and swearing he knew she was enjoying that greatly. He moved harder before she was stopping in front of him and he was so stunned that he did the same. "Kate…" he said as he pulled away from her and then followed her back to their bed before she used her hands to direct him.

Lying on her side Beckett leaned back to meet her husband's lips before they began to kiss and hard. He held her left leg in his hand up so he could take her again and she reached up to him, caressing his cheek before he was suddenly lowering it. Since they'd only been in that position for a few seconds; or a few thrusts; she was surprised but moved with him as he made her bend over onto her arms with her knees on the bed. She braced herself to pass out again as he was quick to find her g-spot with that position but after only another few thrusts; or more she couldn't be sure; he was making her move again. Things started to become a bit blurred to the point where she was only aware of who was on top, not so much the position. First it was her, then him and after him again though her legs were either spread out or over his shoulders then her once more before they were in one of their more favored positions.

Castle was feeling his body protesting his movements as he took her as hard as he knew how to, his hand down between them at her clit and rubbing it furiously. He was desperate as all the changes in position had helped him last longer and he needed to make sure that Beckett was with him. He then finally decided; after moving his hand when it was getting crushed between them a little too hard; that verbally drawing her orgasm out was the best way to go. "Come for me Kate, I can see you want to, let me watch you take me so deep inside of your beautiful pussy," he commanded, hoping she wouldn't mind his tone.

That was the last thing that Beckett found she need and she let herself go, writhing and crying out her husband's name as many times as she could. She was a little taken aback when he was joining her mere seconds later but then realized why he'd said what he did. She held onto him as she wrapped both legs around his waist, driving him into her harder and rolling her head back and forth as wave after wave of pleasure struck her. She had no idea how long they were like that, calling one another's names before they were slumping down to the bed but when he'd rammed his body against her the last couple of times she could feel both of them still throbbing in the aftermath. She wasn't sure when exactly they parted but they were soon under the sheet and she was pressed against him with her cheek to his shoulder as she soon fell asleep.

Though he was exhausted as well Castle wasn't able to do the same and he soon slipped away from his wife to dress and leave the room. He went to the doorway of Eliza's room first and leaned against it as he watched his youngest.

"Rick," Beckett whispered, coming up to him. She smiled when he instantly turned to him and looked down at her body; dressed back in her pajamas; telling him, "I heard you leave."

"I'm not brooding, just wanted to see them," Castle said. He was surprised when Beckett took his hand and led him over to their daughter. He leaned down first and kissed her temple as she was lying on her side before he watched his wife do the same. He wrapped his arm around her waist and then walked with her to Julia's room where they did the same thing again. Back inside their room he was startled when Beckett locked the door and asked, "Aren't you tired?"

"I find that cat nap really helped," Beckett responded as she was pulling off her NYPD shirt again.

Castle felt his mouth was suddenly dry when she removed her pajama pants to reveal to him she'd been completely naked underneath her clothes. But he remembered something himself and had a bit of a scramble to get everything off of him.

Beckett's eyebrows rose for a moment when she saw her husband naked under his pajamas and said with a smirk as she walked to the bed, "I think you planned that."

"No I didn't," Castle said as he followed her, not playing into her attempt to tease him. He moved so he was directly above her and told her, " _I love you_ Kate. _I want to show you that, badly_."

" _Then show me so I can tell how much you love me_ ," Beckett said back easily though her heart had started to beat a little faster in excitement at his serious tone. " _And_ Rick _? I love you too_."

With that Castle had the permission he needed to take her again but that time he made love to Beckett making sure that he took his idea to worship her all through that bout. She responded eagerly, enjoying the gentleness of him after their rougher time earlier. When they had finally parted they laid down to sleep that time too fatigued to do much more than kiss one another a few times before settling close together to let themselves sleep.

Even as they were feeling the exhaustion weigh more heavily on them they were talking and Castle told his wife, "I'm eager to be with everyone now when we go to explore across the pond. Who knows what we'll find there?"

Smiling at that reminder about her search for her family, Beckett brushed her lips to his saying, "So am I. And we will soon. For now goodnight love."

"Night Kate," Castle said though he had so many things left to say. But the feel of his wife's body relaxing in his arms was too much of a temptation and he was soon nodding off as well. He felt eager still for their approaching trip even as he slipped into sleep, knowing for a fact that Beckett felt the same which made him that much more excited to travel again with her.


End file.
